“Behind the Veil”: Unmasking Anti-blackness in Presidential Discourse and Responses to Racialized Incidents

Discourses by university presidents in the wake of racialized incidents continues to be a pressing issue for higher education. Presidential rhetoric can harm those who experience racialized incidents, such as Black students. Using critical discourse analysis, we examined the variations of discourse that a president uses to respond to racialized incidents. Explicitly, as issues of anti-blackness continue to be prevalent within colleges and universities, we sought to highlight how the president’s discourse reinforces anti-blackness narratives perpetuating systemic racism. We center Critical Race Theory and BlackCrit to name how university presidents wrestle with acknowledging anti-blackness. Through a Black liberatory fantasy stance, we offer a framework to engage in radical hope that reimagines what presidential rhetoric should look like, including how university presidents, administrators, and other campus leaders should respond to racialized incidents in meaningful ways that support Black communities and establish equitable policies and practices.