Georgetown academic depts. cosponsor anti-Trump event
Among the confirmed speakers are a Black Lives Matter organizer and nearly a dozen Georgetown and George Washington University professors.
Several academic departments and a coalition of doctoral students at Georgetown University are co-hosting an event to plan their resistance to the "racism, bigotry, and oppression" they attribute to Donald Trump and his supporters.
The Philosophy and Anthropology Departments at Georgetown University will be cosponsoring an event dedicated to organizing against the “racism, bigotry, and oppression” they see in Trump’s presidency.
“Resisting, Organizing, and Building in the Age of Trump,” an eight-hour doctoral and law student teach-in taking place on January 14, says it will be “bringing together DC activists/organizers and academics from across disciplines to discuss the nature of the relationship of Trumpism to racism, bigotry, and oppression in all its multifaceted forms and the urgent question of how the left should move forward.”
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According to the organizers of the event, Trump is not an “isolated tragedy,” but rather an indication of the “racism, structural inequality, and injustice” that has long existed in America.
While the Facebook event only lists a GU teaching assistant as a host, an email obtained by Campus Reform inviting doctoral students revealed that the event will also be co-sponsored by the Philosophy and Anthropology Departments, as well as the Doctoral Students Coalition.
“The teach-in is free and open to the public and will bring together local DC activists/organizers and academics to engage with attendees about the meaning of Trump’s election...and the options for concrete action and community building during the next four years and beyond,” the email explains. “We would love to have a big turnout from Georgetown graduate student-workers.”
The invitation goes on to share a list of confirmed speakers, including a Black Lives Matter organizer and nearly a dozen Georgetown and George Washington University professors.
[RELATED: Ripon president urges profs to attack Trump in all classes]
According to the event description, liberal institutions and the Democratic Party have failed to protect a number of groups from Trumpism, including “Muslims, undocumented workers, African Americans, Latinos/as/xs, women, LGBT+, immigrants, those with disabilities, Jews, Native Americans, the economically oppressed, those living in the Third World, [and] victims of American militarism, among others.”
In addition to exploring options for direct action against Trump’s presidency, the event also plans to begin “articulating a genuine alternative to the reigning neoliberal, capitalist consensus of both parties.”
A Georgetown University professor was criticized last week for allowing her students to attend a similar anti-Trump teach-in for course credit.
[RELATED: Students get credit for attending anti-Trump teach-in]
Campus Reform reached out to the Philosophy and Anthropology Departments but did not receive a response by press time.
Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @amber_athey
