A black professor of gynecologic oncology at the University of Washington opens her “Voices” column in last week’s New England Journal of Medicine with the following: “They are trying to kill us.”
Dr. Kemi Doll is referencing Cambridge University’s Jason Arday, who seemingly committed suicide just days following his resignation in the midst of an academic scandal.
Despite accusations of plagiarism and fabulism against Arday (and the subsequent investigations), Doll writes “I don’t care whether or not any of these allegations against Prof. Arday were true. None of them were worth his career. And certainly not his life.”
Doll adds “The message to Black academics is clear. Come in, be great and indeed be excellent, but don’t dare dream too big. Don’t dare shine too bright. Walk the line of excellence and humility with perfect grace, and be ready to fight for your life.”
As someone who introduced herself here as being in it for the long haul in academia, I am in contemplation this week. Not because I am considering leaving, but because it’s important to query whether my systems and boundaries for my own well-being are strong enough to withstand the ever-present winds of white supremacy and anti-Blackness. Are my bonds with my fellow Black academics well-tended to? Are my filters to keep nonsense out of my inbox tight enough? Do I need to ratchet up my “No”s even further?
According to her website, Doll’s work “lives at the intersection of science, advocacy, and transformation.” She endeavors to “uncover the root causes of womb health inequities and push[es] for systemic change in how care is delivered to Black women and womb-holders,” and “believe[s] in telling the truth, even when it is uncomfortable.”
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