Welcome to ETSU's Department of Communication & Performance
Home of Communication Studies, Storytelling, and the Master of Arts in Communication & Storytelling Studies
ETSU Department of Communication & Performance
Statement on Recent Events and Matters of Race
June 3, 2020
One of the critical goals of the programs in the Department of Communication & Performance
at ETSU is to “promote civic engagement, social responsibility, and civil dialogue
in local, national, and global arenas.” And one of our core values is inclusiveness
“that fosters respectful, ethical engagements and dialogues across populations and
communities, and that advocates for free and open exchange of ideas, sustained democratic
values, and working for the public good.” These components of who we are as a department
compel us to respond to recent events at national and local levels.
The faculty and staff of the Department of Communication & Performance recognize that
the brutal and senseless death of George Floyd exists not as an isolated incident
but only the most recent, prominent example of the disturbing inequalities of basic
human rights across populations and communities in our country. Further, we contend
that systemic racism stands at the center of that unequal distribution and that we
have much work to do uprooting it. We recognize that compassion is critical to the
work of uprooting racism, and we stand in solidarity with ETSU students, staff, and
faculty of color. But we know that compassion alone is not enough.
We are committed to fighting social injustice—in our classrooms, our scholarship,
and our communities. In that, we—a predominately white faculty—also affirm our commitment
to listen to and validate the stories of those directly impacted by racial discrimination.
We will continue to use, teach our students to use, and seek out new ways to use,
the power of communication and story to create a more humane and equitable world,
where all people enjoy life and liberty, regardless of skin color.
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