Power, inequality, and systematic racism are issues at the heart of sociological inquiry. Indeed, W.E.B. DuBois, a Black American sociologist and activist who revolutionized the study of inequality through his research in Philadelphia among other places declared that “the problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color-line.” DuBois’s statement remains as true today as it was in 1903. In commitment to pursuing racial justice through research and teaching, the Department of Sociology has prepared a statement on systemic oppression and racial inequality and the Philadelphia Racial Justice Syllabus for teaching the sociological history of racial justice in Philadelphia.

Statement on Systemic Oppression and Racial Inequity

We, the faculty and staff of Drexel University’s Department of Sociology, encourage all individuals, as witnesses to the ongoing struggles in American society, to educate themselves about inequality. As sociologists, we know that interconnected social institutions such as housing, healthcare, education, and criminal justice systematically generate unequal access to resources, producing stratified life chances across many minoritized groups. These systematic injustices are particularly stark today. As sociologists, we have a unique opportunity to deepen our shared commitment to bringing about systemic change through research, student support, and public efforts to speak truth to power in our local, national, and global communities. Our research addresses ongoing concerns about environmental racism, explores underdevelopment and inequalities in health within the United States and other global regions, and examines cases of what Philadelphia-born Black sociologist Patricia Hill Collins called the matrix of domination, where racial inequality intersects with other dimensions of systematic oppression. As teachers, we have an ongoing commitment to pedagogical and curricular interventions that center reparative justice.

As we observe patterns of inequality reproduced in our institutions of higher education, we support our Black, Indigenous, Latine, Asian American, immigrant, and other minoritized students in and outside the classroom. We join in protest, in activism, and in solidarity with organizations and movements committed to ending racial oppression and ensuring a racially just society for us all. We are committed to creating an inclusive community at Drexel and in Philadelphia by sensitizing our ears to marginalized voices and calling out injustices when seen and experienced.

We continue to support our academic community in several ways

• We call on Drexel to commit to hiring and retaining historically underrepresented and minoritized faculty.
• We commit to supporting our Dreamer students, our international students, and all our students who have been victimized and terrorized by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and other federal agencies.
• We urge Drexel to limit the police department’s scope of responsibility to the University itself, rather than the surrounding community. We urge the University to provide training to Drexel staff, faculty and students on how to respond to and protect campus spaces and Drexel community members from ICE.
• We call on the University to commit to protecting and funding centers and programs that are concerned with inclusion, systemic racial oppression, and equity in higher education: Africana Studies and Women’s and Gender Studies, Center for Black Culture, the Lindy Center for Civic Engagement, and the Kline School of Law’s Legal Clinic and Advocacy for Immigrants and Refugees.
• In the face of ongoing incursions on academic freedom from the government, we join others in the call for the intentional diversification of curriculum, research, and public scholarship in ways that defend and amplify the work done by minoritized scholars.