Amplifying the voices of Black academics: An examination of #BlackInTheIvory tweets as emancipatory discourse

Abstract

This paper examines tweets of the #BlackInTheIvory movement as an emancipatory discourse that achieves a social justice function. It addresses the need to value the stories of Black academics and argues that an understanding of Black academics’ experiences is essential to dismantling oppressive systems in academia. The findings show that in amplifying the voices of Black academics in the US and centring their scholarship, the tweets focus on three themes: (1) grief and pain, (2) resistance and resilience, and (3) success and triumph. By so doing, the #BlackInTheIvory movement provides community for Black academics to discuss Blackness in US academia, resist racist practices, reimagine institutions of higher education, and chart pathways for Black academics’ healing and restoration. The paper contends that the deliberate amplification of the voice, work, and value of Black academics is an important part of the process of building inclusive academic communities, and concludes with a call for diversity, equity, and inclusion in academia to be considered radical action.