HORNETS News: Problems at Delaware State University
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Posted By: How May I Help You NC on May 03, 2012 FEATURED Content April 29, 2012, Dear Citizens and Colleagues: My name is Rev. Dr. Salim Faraji and I am an Associate Professor of Africana Studies at California State University, Dominguez Hills and a minister in the Fifth Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Irvine, California. I am writing in support of my colleague and dear friend Dr. Jahi Issa. It is my honor to testify and bear witness to his integrity, dedication and impeccable character as a human being, scholar and civic guardian of the common good. I am concerned about recent developments regarding Dr. Issa’s arrest by the police departments at Delaware State University and the City of Dover where he was charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, offensive touching of a law enforcement officer and inciting a riot. Despite the fact that numerous of witnesses have stated that Dr. Issa did none of the above, Dr. Issa is still facing more than two years in prison. Not only are these charges bogus, but completely unfounded in light of Dr. Issa’s record of service and educational excellence to American higher education. Nuumerous Dr. Issa is a product of the urban communities of St. Louis, Mo and a graduate of Historically Black College and Universities at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. He completed his undergraduate degree at Texas Southern University, master’s degree at Southern University and his Ph. D. at Howard University. His entire professional focus has been to give back to the very institutions that shaped and prepared him for both social and academic leadership. Dr. Issa loves the legacy and mission of HBCUs and his commitment to student empowerment is unwavering. He models the practices of the socially engaged pedagogue and therefore his instruction to students to exercise their freedom of speech by questioning institutional policy at Delaware State University with regard to recruitment and retention of African American faculty and students should not be misconstrued as riotous or rebellious behavior, but a deep concern for maintaining fidelity to the federally stated mission of the HBCU. In fact I believe the real reason why DSU and the Dover Police Department have taken a militant stance against Dr. Issa is because of his exercise of free speech in an article he wrote on September 6, 2011 for the Black Agenda Report titled “The Ethnic Cleansing of Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the Age of Obama.” In that article Delaware State University among other HBCUs was named as an institution where White student enrollment along with other non-African Americans is on the rise—and concurrently African American faculty have been declining in recent years. Dr. Issa should not be penalized and harassed by law enforcement and university administration for having raised these issues in a public forum. He after all is a professor and constituent at Delaware State University. I object to any charges that have been file against him and I request that all allegations be immediately dismissed. Equally important, Dr. Issa deserves a public apology and an official acknowledgment of his role in seeking to advance the historic mission of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. In addition, please call Delaware State University President, Dr. Harry L. Williams and Delaware Attorney General Joseph “Beau” Biden III and ask them to reinstate Dr. Issa to his teaching position and to drop all charges against Dr. Issa. Delaware State University’s President Office # 302-465-6001 Delaware Attorney General’s Office # 302-577-8400 Dr. Salim Faraji, Associate Professor Department of Africana Studies California State University, Dominguez Hills 1000 E. Victoria Street Carson, CA 90746 310-243-2402; sfaraji@csudh.edu California State University Dominguez Hills If you enjoyed this article, Join HBCU CONNECT today for similar content and opportunities via email! |
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How May I Help You NC
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