Cultural Studies

The faculty of the Cultural Studies Department at Claremont Graduate University stands in solidarity with all the protests in defense of Black Lives. The mission of our program is to arm our students with the critical skills to expose the ideological dimension of culture and to explore its radical potential, and the stakes have never been higher.

This year we have watched COVID-19 exacerbate health and economic disparities as poor and working class and communities of color have been increasingly placed on the pandemic front lines as first responders, health care providers and victims of the disease. We have watched as vulnerable communities are made more vulnerable through neglect, fear or the deliberate use of crisis as a cover for state violence. The pandemic has led to increased incidents of gender-based violence. People in jails, prisons, detention centers, Native American reservations and unhoused people face greater risks of illness and death. The government is continuing deportations, including of unaccompanied children, while banning asylum for refugees and immigrants. Anti-Asian discrimination and violence is being stoked by rhetoric at the highest levels of government.

And the recent murders of Tony McDade, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Aubery, George Floyd and many others have reminded us all that the United States, which is founded upon the exploitation, disregard and murder of Black lives, continues this legacy in old and new forms every day.

The teachings of our field remind us that all of these issues are interlocking and that resistance to it is our legacy and our charge. We stand with all activists and victims’ family members who are protesting in love and anger. We denounce the criminalization of protest and demand a rebalancing of public funding away from a militarized police force and prisons towards human needs like schools, housing, and health care.

Black Lives Matter.

Cultural Studies Department, Claremont Graduate University
Chair: Eve Oishi
831 N. Dartmouth Avenue • Claremont, CA 91711 • 909-621-8612 • Fax 909-607-9587