Building Solidarity in Academia: Tales of Humanity and Action – Panel Discussion Recap

On November 6, 2024, scholars, students, and activists gathered for a powerful roundtable discussion, Building Solidarity in Academia: Tales of Humanity and Action. The event explored how academia can bridge the gap between institutions and communities through collaborative, justice-oriented efforts. Panelists shared their experiences working on transformative projects that connect academic scholarship to real-world struggles.

Panel Overview

The discussion featured four distinguished panelists:

  • Michelle Fine, Distinguished Professor at the Graduate Center, CUNY, and co-founder of the Public Science Project.
  • Samuel Finesurrey, Assistant Professor at Guttman Community College, CUNY.
  • Mariel Acosta Matos, Graduate student in Hispanic Sociolinguistics at LAILaC at the Graduate Center, CUNY.
  • Diana Higuera Cortes, Graduate student at LAILaC at the Graduate Center, CUNY, and CUNY Humanities Alliance Fellow.
  • Moderated by Luis Henao, humanities director of the CUNY Humanities Alliance, the conversation revolved around humanity’s shared responsibility, ethical challenges, and the institutional barriers faced when engaging in solidarity-building work.

Key Themes and Insights

Expanding the Role of Academia

The panel opened with reflections on how academia often operates in isolation, disconnected from the struggles of marginalized communities. The panelists emphasized the necessity of integrating academic work with community engagement:

  • Diana shared her experience with the Worker’s Justice Project, teaching English to immigrant day laborers. She highlighted the need for institutions like CUNY to provide resources not just to undocumented undergraduates but also to adult learners in continuing education programs.
  • Mariel detailed her work mobilizing mutual aid networks for newly arrived asylum seekers in New York City. She shared how shelters often reproduce inhumane conditions, resembling the borders migrants have already endured. Her initiative not only provided clothing and food but also connected migrants with essential services, such as enrolling children in school and navigating city life.

Reimagining Teaching and Research

The panelists discussed how their work has reshaped their perspectives on education and scholarship:

  • Samuel recounted teaching history in a North Carolina prison, where his syllabus initially felt detached from his students’ lived realities. It wasn’t until he introduced discussions on the Black Panther Party that students deeply engaged, connecting the material to their own experiences. This realization inspired him to co-create projects with his students, incorporating their migration narratives and presenting them at conferences.
  • Michelle described the origins of the Public Science Project, which trains activists to conduct research and fosters “contact zones” between academics and those most impacted by systemic injustice. She shared her early participatory research with incarcerated women, culminating in the publication of Changing Minds, a groundbreaking study on how education reduces recidivism.

Challenges Within Institutions

Panelists candidly addressed the hurdles they face in bringing community work into academic spaces:

  • Michelle reflected on how institutions often take credit for grassroots initiatives while offering little support. She highlighted the emotional toll of community work, especially when systemic change seems elusive.
  • Mariel shared the difficulties of inviting asylum seekers to events at the Graduate Center due to bureaucratic requirements like valid IDs, which many migrants lack. She described how persistence and collaboration helped overcome these barriers, but not without significant effort.
  • Diana discussed the ethical dilemmas of institutional extractivism, where tragedies are used for academic gain without genuine engagement or support for the communities being studied.

The Joy and Necessity of Solidarity

Despite the challenges, the panelists expressed a profound sense of fulfillment in their work:

  • Mariel emphasized that her motivation stems from humanity’s innate need for solidarity. She highlighted how mutual aid efforts create “safe landing places” for new community members, reinforcing cohesion in times of crisis.
  • Samuel spoke of building community as an act of collective imagination, demonstrating alternative ways of living and treating one another.
  • Michelle concluded by affirming the transformative power of teaching. She described the classroom as a radical space where students and educators can ask hard questions, challenge dominant narratives, and model new forms of community.

Final Reflections

The event ended on a hopeful note, with the panelists encouraging attendees to actively engage in solidarity work. As Mariel put it, “We are social beings. In community, we need to support each other to maintain cohesion and create safe spaces. It’s time to get involved.”

This roundtable reminded us that academia has a critical role to play in building a more just and equitable world. By bridging the gap between institutions and communities, we can collectively reimagine a future rooted in humanity and action.

Authored by Mehrnaz Moghaddam, Humanities Alliance Communication Fellow