(Photo courtesy of Princeton University) Fort recently accepted a teaching position at Princeton University as a professor of African American Studies.
Reggie Walker
Connector Contributor
Nyle Fort visited campus on Monday, Feb. 14, as part of UMass Lowell’s Social Justice Week, offering two different sessions for faculty/staff and students.
Nyle Fort is a minister, activist and scholar and has recently accepted a position as a professor of African American studies at Princeton University. The staff and faculty session was cosponsored by the Office of Multicultural Affairs and the Social Justice Center and was moderated by Amy Liss, the director of multicultural affairs.
After a brief introduction, Fort took the stage to address roughly 30 eager student affairs professionals and faculty from various university departments. At the beginning of the presentation, Fort invited the audience to consider three things. First, he is a product of the black church, an institution built on call and response. Call and response is a format that invites participants to respond and react to things that they find relatable. Second, he is the youngest of eight children, and raised by his mother with one of his brothers, he is a self-proclaimed “momma’s boy.” Finally, he requested that the audience compare the day’s session to a buffet. “There will be things you may or may not have tried before, maybe even things that you dislike,” said Fort. Nonetheless, he invited the audience to sit at a “table” with him and “partake in the bounty of knowledge being bestowed upon [them].”
The introduction was followed by a story about his mother, a woman that, for most of his life, worked as a mortician in a black funeral home. His mother was a woman that was very fond of stories, and every night, she would tell him and his older brother stories about fictional princes, each named after them.
In the spirit of stories, he went on to discuss the story of Dr. Martin Luther King and how stories of his life have moved away from his preaching’s on racism, militarism and economics to, “a story that is more reminiscent of Santa Clause,” Fort said.
“The story of Dr. King is a lullaby; it comes around once a year to confirm our lies and illusions as Americans. The subject of critical race is so misunderstood and so misconstrued, that several states have banned the topic entirely,” says Fort.
Fort broke down critical race theory as something that is not simply about individual prejudice but is about a social construct that impacts every aspect of society. It is not only about race and is not about white guilt. Fort says, “Politicians seeking to ban or outlaw critical race theory do not understand the theory . . . it also sacrifices those in power to sacrifice their power and privilege.”
Fort wrapped up his presentation by inviting staff and faculty to ask any questions or state any concerns that they wished for him to address. Many participated and asked questions ranging from how to be a better ally to how to remain hopeful in a world that’s becoming increasingly difficult to navigate. To the latter, Fort says, “Will you fight even though you’ll still lose?”
Many of the faculty and staff that attended found the session to be incredibly interesting and insightful with assistant director of Student Life and Wellbeing, Hannah Monbleau, saying “I think it is really important for student affairs professionals to understand critical race theory and how it impacts our students.”
Fort hosted a student focused event titled “Black in America: Race, Protest, and Democracy” Monday evening that was also well received.
“He told us to ‘challenge what was in the water’ meaning to challenge our surroundings and peers,” said Stephanie Garcia, a graduate fellow in the Office of Multicultural Affairs. “We had a round table discussion about the first time we really learned about race, and he used our personal experiences as examples for discussion.”
Another student, Sarorn Lin, said, “I really enjoyed his energy, enthusiasm and passion. It wasn’t just some lecture–he brought together our personal stories and was able to lead us through the conversation despite our different levels of knowledge without losing anyone due to boredom or confusion.”
Overall, this event was a powerful start to UMass Lowell’s Social Justice Week and provided an insightful introduction into the themes explored throughout the remainder of the week.
