Today, the Association of Internet Researchers joins in the worldwide movements to #ShutDownAcademia and #Strike4BlackLives. We condemn anti-Black racism and brutality and support those who have been participating in demonstrations and working against systemic racism. We recognize the traumatic impact the recent deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and so many others have had – on many of us, and on Black colleagues in particular. State violence against Black communities is connected to colonialist histories, and we recognize that white supremacy and systems of oppression are similarly woven into the systems of higher education. As part of our organization’s commitment to anti-racist pedagogy and scholarship, we center the voices and scholarship of Black and Brown colleagues, and encourage taking this day to self-educate and to consider how structural racism has played out, and continues to play out, in scholarship and pedagogies.
In solidarity, members and friends of the Association have been compiling a list of resources for critical race and internet studies. Please offer suggestions to this list.
The organization’s current leadership is inviting insights on how the upcoming virtual conference may provide spaces for discussions about race. We also we seek to take the organization toward structural change that addresses the many challenges we are facing as scholars, educators, and as human beings. Please contact anyone on the Board if you would like to participate in this discussion on elevating critical race and internet studies at AoIR.
