LAUNC-CH statement on Nikole Hannah-Jones
Statement from the board of the Library Association at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill* (LAUNC-CH)
Please note: This is not a statement from the University Libraries. LAUNC-CH is an organization independent of the University Libraries.
The board of the Library Association at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill (LAUNC-CH) stands in solidarity with organizations and individuals campus-wide in advocating for offering a tenured appointment to Nikole Hannah-Jones. Intellectual and academic freedom are core values to us as library workers and Hannah-Jones’ journalistic contributions are exemplary of the type and quality of work research universities must strive to encourage and protect. We condemn the racist attempt by the University of North Carolina Board of Trustees to undermine and disregard the accomplishments of Hannah-Jones by withholding tenure. This is particularly egregious when examined within a long UNC history of policy decisions that intentionally and systematically disenfranchise Black faculty (and potential faculty) members. We support this decision being overturned in keeping with UNC’s commitment to combating structural racism and discrimination as outlined in Carolina Next.
As workers who collaborate closely with both students and faculty, we want to also take this opportunity to directly offer support to the statements below.