Tales of Tenure Terror:
Apparently a graduate student at UW-Madison has pulled a Krug/Dolezal. Although I love an aca-scandal, these aren’t the fun kind, because the harm to already marginalized people is grand. I think this one is particularly interesting because someone who was on to her had the receipts and screenshots and spelled it out for us in…you guessed it, a medium post.
One final reason I have hesitated to share my suspicions is due to CV’s public performance of an anti-fascist politic and their abundant critiques of racism in leftist organizing. I do not wish to give fodder to people who have other grievances with CV, or with Black studies and Black liberation struggles. I’m sharing this, instead, because the outpouring of pain in the wake of Krug’s betrayal has reminded me that, as a non-Black person who inhabits some of the other identities CV has appropriated, I owe others this warning. I owe it to share with Black scholars and organizers, because they deserve a chance to avoid placing their trust in people who are committed enough to Black struggle to appropriate a Black identity that gains them social capital, but not committed enough to just exist in solidarity without centering themselves.
CV has since resigned from their job and issues their own, not one, but two Medium posts. (Honestly, is Medium the official sponsor of internet apologies?)
From the first step:
In trying to sort through parts of who I am, I’ve taken some very wrong turns. I never really owned up to them as they became apparent, nor recognized the trail of damage behind me. The harm I caused is a result of my lack of courage, a preference for being vague and contradictory, uncertain and insecure. I want to make amends for every ounce of heartbreak and betrayal.
Second step:
When asked if I identify as Black, my answer should have always been “No.” There were three separate instances I said otherwise. I should not have adopted any identity outside of what I know. I should have recognized my commitments to liberation can be based on my experiences without incorporating those experiences into my identity. I should have instead been clear and honest about how I identify and talked through people’s perceptions and ideas of me.
It’s not my part to forgive her, but where do we go from here? Can their belief in social justice be salvaged somehow? How does one apologize for this?
Speaking of apologizing, Kaitlin Bennet, aka “gun girl” will never apologize and if she did we would all laugh. She’s showing up on campuses without a mask and then playing the victim when people run her off campus.
Once again, Tik Tokers are doing the important work:
Stunts like this then allow garbage like her to turn around and cry free speech.