Abstract
This important text provides a critical examination of the current state of higher education during the Black Lives Matter movement. This book examines the economic advantage white supremacy holds in higher education, how that foundational stronghold continues to shape higher education, the false equivalency of inclusivity, and the nature of political retrenchment against Blackness. Campus protests highlight tensions between institutional diversity, equity, and inclusion and the lived realities of faculty, staff, and students. This resource provides a comprehensive review of the historical significance of white supremacy and anti-Blackness embodied in higher education institutions while highlighting Black folks’ resiliency in fighting for their liberation and transformative change. Plantation Politics is an important addition for students, scholars, and administrators who are interested in understanding the current focus on critical race theory (CRT) and anti-Black racism.
This book is timely given the current CRT debate and its relevance in examining structural inequities in higher education perpetuating anti-Blackness.
The book's three sections address different ways white supremacy and anti-Blackness stifled higher education institutions’ response to campus protests and resistance. A plantation politics framework helps readers understand how extensive and ingrained white supremacy is in contemporary higher education which allows readers to understand how institutions continue to perpetuate anti-Blackness in performative approaches regarding equity.
Section one provides a thorough overview of higher education's role in marginalizing Black faculty, staff, and students as a system. Chapter 1 provides an in-depth analysis of how Black folks are socialized to understand power dynamics of white supremacy and the consequences of rebellion. Squire credits the seminal work of Durant's (1999) plantation politics. Of particular importance is the illustration of the perceived power of house slaves in the role of plantation drivers, equating this to the role of Chief Diversity Officers at universities. This section lays the groundwork for understanding the nature of pushback and resistance against white supremacists and those who protect it.
Section 2 delves deeper into the façade of diversity initiatives as acts of good faith while upholding whiteness through chief diversity officer positions with no power to make significant changes and multicultural centers as acts of goodwill. As a follow-up to chapter 1's analogy of the plantation driver as the CDO, in chapter 7, Frank Tuitt explores further the parallels between the plantation driver as overseer of the enslaved and the perils of this role in maintaining anti-Blackness in white institutions. Section two highlights gender studies and the problematic nature of whiteness centered in feminism and gender studies. While this section discusses challenges of marginalization and intersectionality among diversity officers, the authors acknowledge the need for more in-depth analysis of intersectionality and patriarchy using the plantation politics framework. The final chapter in this section emphasizes cultural centers as safe houses to provide spaces for refuge and strategic planning to combat racist practices which supports Ahmed's (2012) work highlighting obstacles diversity practitioners encounter with ineffective institutional initiatives regarding equity.
Section 3 examines the political nature of politics and policy that continue to perpetuate the marginalization of Blacks in higher education institutions. In this section, the final chapters cover hot topic issues currently facing colleges and universities concerning confederate monuments on college campuses, recent student protests and pushback against campus racism, and subsequent institutional responses to these actions. This section provides the reader with opportunities to understand the importance of strategically responding to institutions that create roadblocks to more equitable and inclusive environments.
Overall, this book is excellent at explaining current issues facing higher education institutions and the struggle for Black lives to matter. This body of work adds to the scholarship for community activists and student organizations. Adult and higher education programs looking to add social justice and advocacy materials to their academic programs should consider this book. The plantation politics framework adds an additional analysis examining the structural nature of racism and anti-Blackness, which extends the work of CRT. I would welcome a second edition of this book with additional chapters on the legislative attack on CRT and academic freedom in universities. I would recommend a section on stories by faculty, staff, and students who are engaging in activism and resistance. Counter-storytelling in CRT can highlight the importance of engaging in truth-telling and highlighting problematic relationships higher education institutions have with Black bodies.