Michael Omi and Howard Winant are Ethnic Studies scholars and the authors of Racial Formations in the United States (1994), widely considered to be one of the foundational texts in contemporary Ethnic Studies scholarship. Their statement is posted below.
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Today, racism is narrowly understood in ways that obscure rather than reveal its pervasiveness. It is often seen as merely the irrational beliefs or actions of individuals. Your strike redirects our attention toward the institutions, and policies and practices, that reproduce racial inequality and domination.
Is Columbia University such an institution? You are challenging Columbia, as others have done in the past, to fulfill its responsibilities to students, to the community at large, and to social equality and justice.
We are moved and inspired by your insight, energy, and vision.
Michael Omi
University of California, Berkeley
Howard Winant
University of California, Santa Barbara
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Today, racism is narrowly understood in ways that obscure rather than reveal its pervasiveness. It is often seen as merely the irrational beliefs or actions of individuals. Your strike redirects our attention toward the institutions, and policies and practices, that reproduce racial inequality and domination.
Is Columbia University such an institution? You are challenging Columbia, as others have done in the past, to fulfill its responsibilities to students, to the community at large, and to social equality and justice.
We are moved and inspired by your insight, energy, and vision.
Michael Omi
University of California, Berkeley
Howard Winant
University of California, Santa Barbara
