Vianey Ladron / Contributing Writer
After last year’s events revolving around the George Floyd protests, a conversation sparked within the FIU community and this spring the university introduced the Black Faculty Association.
FIU Provost Keneneth Furton announced on Jan.11 the university created the association as a next toward a more inclusive community for black students and faculty.
“The mission of the BFA is to promote unity, increase productivity, and enrich the morale among Black faculty,” according to the provost’s email.
Dr. Isaac Burt, creator and director of the new association, first came up with the idea to create a Black Faculty Association a year ago, after seeing videos of black americans being assaulted by police officers.
“With the combination of Breonna Taylor [and] Ahmaud Arbery[‘s deaths], and then seeing George Floyd…for me, I really looked at that as a metaphor, because I saw myself,” said Burt. “It really shook me and I said: ‘I don’t know what the future is going to hold, if I say nothing or do nothing at this time, then, personally, I can’t say anything ever again.”
But FIU is not the first to establish a Black Association, as other universities have implemented programs providing inclusiveness towards Black students and faculty.
Universities such as University of Florida, University of Central Florida, University of South Florida and Florida State University already have BFA programs on their campus. UCF has had their Black Faculty and Staff Association established since 1971.
Burt said he was concerned FIU didn’t have a BFA.
“The idea came up and it was ‘Black Faculty’, and I had been thinking about that for about a year. Like how come we don’t have one? Other universities do, and being in Miami, we need something like that,” he said.
Burt said he was determined to create one in order to start the conversation at the university among faculty.
“We [didn’t] know if they [were] going to say yes or no, but [we were] just going to create this ourselves even if they [said] no,” he said.
According to Burt, he felt action was overdue and Dr. Hesham Ali, a board member of the BFA and an FIU professor in the department of Civil & Environmental Engineering agrees.
“The social unrest of 2020, which quickly spread across the country and echoed around the world, was a wakeup call,” said Ali. “The existing social structure is suffering from the illness of racism, injustice, and inequity. This has led to increased levels of alienation and resistance from a large sector of our society.”
In an email to PantherNOW, Ali stated “As a member of the Black Faculty Association (BFA) at FIU, I am optimistic about the direction that FIU has taken,” Ali wrote in an email to PantherNOW. “[The] President and Provost’s initiatives to promote diversity and inclusion are commendable. I look forward to working with the BFA and Vice President Hudson to implement her diversity and inclusion plan and bring about an overdue change.”
Email sent out by Dr.Hesham Ali to PantherNOW explaining the position of the Black Faculty and Staff
The student demographic at FIU is comprised of; 61% Hispanic 15% White Non-Hispanic, 13% Black, 4% Asian or Pacific Islander, 7% other minority groups.
The percentage of Black faculty nationwide was only 2% according to the National Center For Education Statistics.
Burt says this makes it more important for Black faculty to be represented at universities such as FIU. He thinks it’s also crucial for students.
“But if we’re not represented, then it doesn’t make any difference. Like yes, you may have them but I don’t see them,” he said. “We don’t want the professors to look completely different than what the student population is.”
Burt said a career in academia is often difficult for Black people due to racial prejudice and believes it’s important for Black students to have role models in the field of education.
“As an undergraduate, I had no black professors. As a graduate, I had maybe one, and he was very marginalized. As a doctoral student, I did have a very strong mentor who was a black man, [and] who was a black man, [and] who was very involved with the students, very popular,” said Burt. “And that was really helpful for me, but what about the people who don’t?”
“We want to reach out to students and say: Hey, this isn’t just a pipedream. If you really want to go into academia, well, guess what…there are channels there,” he added.
Through the BFA, he hopes to facilitate these connections between Black faculty and students.
“We also want to reach out and give opportunities to students who may be interested, and it really is powerful to have someone who looks like you who is doing research with you, teaching 100 students with you,” he said. “But if you do not know they exist, then those connections cannot be made.”
FIU President Mark B. Rosenberg said he supports the BFA’s creation and commitment to providing a more inclusive staff and faculty to students.
“I’m sure the idea will be an important venue for discussing options and initiatives to improve our diversity, equity and inclusivity impact,” Rosenberg said. “What we’re interested in is impact, and getting things done.”
Burt hopes having a more inclusive faculty will result in Black students feeling more identified at an academic level.
Ultimately, Burt said, he hopes the BFA will enable FIU to make Black academics feel welcome.
“A home in which black scholars from around the world can look at FIU, and say, ‘wow, they have a very strong contingent, they’re really producing, I want to be a part of that and that’s our vision, to make FIU a top destination for black scholars because of what we are doing now.” said Burt. “We have the perspective that if some of us shine, all of us shine.”
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