Public administration professor Jeannine Love joined the national Scholar Strike for Racial Justice with an online teach-in on "social justice audits."
On September 8 and 9, scholars in public administration hosted a Twitter dialogue under the hashtag #PAScholarStrike, sharing insights, theories and teachings on racial justice in the field.
“Scholar Strike was a place for scholars to collectively raise our voices in solidarity with the Movement for Black Lives,” said Dr. Love. “The fight for racial justice requires each of us to identify the ways we can take meaningful action to dismantle white supremacy.”
More than 5,000 higher education professionals joined the mass action, protesting racist policing, state violence against communities of color, mass incarceration and other manifestations of racism. The collective #PAScholarStrike effort was led by public administration scholars across universities:
- Del Bharath (Savannah State University)
- Brandi Blessett (University of Cincinnati)
- Rachel Emas (Rutgers University Newark)
- Tia Sherèe Gaynor (University of Cincinnati)
- Sean McCandless (University of Illinois Springfield)
- Bruce McDonald III (North Carolina State University)
- Parisa Vinzant (Vinzant Group)
- James Wright II (Florida State University)
Dr. Love is an associate professor of public administration and director of Roosevelt’s political science department. The Roosevelt master’s in public administration prepares students to work in public service across sectors, making decisions about organization management, public planning, budgeting, housing, transportation, education, and health care.
However, Dr. Love notes, “traditional approaches to public administration reinforce racial inequities and actively harm BIPOC individuals and communities.”
She added, “Public administration educators must provide our students with the knowledge and the tools necessary to disrupt the status quo and engage in anti-racist administration to ensure equitable inclusion of all members of our organizations and communities.”
During her teach-in, Dr. Love discussed the need to identify the white supremacist roots of our organizations and transform how power works within them. Conducting successful audits depends on going past self-studies of what individuals are doing, she says, to look at the structure of the organization as a whole, led by a broadly inclusive group.
Dr. Love warns that even once a social justice audit is finished, its leaders still have to overcome resistance to change and efforts to water down transformational work.
“Working toward social justice is a never-ending process. This will not be a one-and-done report,” Dr. Love said. She advised, “Build structures and processes that facilitate ongoing and open dialogue. Create spaces that support difficult conversations.”