ASWAD Denounces White Nationalism
In the wake of another wave of white nationalist and Nazi demonstrations across the globe, the Association for the Study of the Worldwide African Diaspora (ASWAD) reaffirms our opposition to the growing fascist movements throughout the African Diaspora. During these troubled times, ASWAD denounces all forms of harassment, aggression, and violence based on race, gender, religion and sexual orientation. We remain outraged by the U.S. president's willingness to excuse and downplay the activities of white nationalists and white supremacists, and we are alarmed about the advancement of rhetoric that forecasts the transformation of Islamophobic, anti-Semitic, sexist, and racist campaign discourse into tangible policy. We consider the current climate antithetical to all that we rigorously and passionately work to achieve as scholars in the realm of social justice and respect for humanity. As a result, we call upon the U.S. President and other global leaders to denounce racist, misogynist, homophobic, and discriminatory attacks.
As scholars of Africa and the African diaspora, we are committed not only to producing and disseminating scholarship on the global Black experience, but also to defending the most vulnerable in the places where we live and study-the members of our worldwide community who are people of color, LGBTQIA people, Muslims (and other religious groups facing discrimination), immigrants (documented and undocumented), the differently abled, and women. We stand in solidarity with all those who are struggling to fight against discrimination, intolerance, and oppression, and we pledge to foster an inclusive, welcoming intellectual and political environment at our upcoming 2017 conference in Seville, Spain.
Leslie M. Alexander, President
Elisa Joy White, Vice President
Laura Rosanne Adderley, Secretary
Walter C. Rucker, Treasurer
On behalf of the Executive Board of the Association for the Study of the Worldwide African Diaspora (ASWAD)
