DEI in a Time of Genocide or Re-Calling June Jordan's Years at Stony Brook

The rise of DEI within U.S. universities has not made it easier to analyze or speak about genocidal violence erupting within our world. Following an academic year when Stony Brook University’s DEI office functioned as a truncheon wielded against students protesting the ongoing genocide in Gaza, this essay delves into the example of dissident poet and former Stony Brook University faculty member June Jordan, who provides a critical example of Palestinian solidarity and principled practice from within academia. June Jordan’s Stony Brook years provide a vital example for students, faculty, and staff speaking about Palestinian freedom and global human rights on American college campuses.