Statement on violence against Asian Americans, Asians, and Pacific Islanders (May 2021)

The Department of History condemns all forms of violence perpetrated against the Asian and Pacific Islander communities in the United States. We wish to assure the Asian American, Asian and Pacific Islander communities on our campus and in Bowling Green that our department is committed to ensuring their safety. A fundamental principle of a democratic society is to guarantee the safety of each one of its members. To make this possible, it is the duty of the majority to protect the rights of all minorities, irrespective of ethnicity. Modern history has provided many examples of disasters that could have been averted, had citizens in sufficient numbers taken action against violence targeted at minorities. A democratic society which defends its minorities simultaneously defends its democratic values and principles. The faculty of the Department of History considers it a moral and civic obligation to contribute to building a society in which every member can feel safe.

Statement on Black Lives Matter protests (June 2020)

The History Department at Western Kentucky University stands in solidarity with the protests against police brutality carried out in communities across the country. We share President Caboni's insistence that we must continue to work together and stand up for fairness and justice for every person. We also endorse a statement issued by the American Historical Association urging a reckoning with the United States' deplorable record of violence against African Americans, a record that stretches back centuries. The brutal murder of George Floyd laid bare the ongoing, systematic racism embedded in our institutions and civic life. We insist that Black Lives Matter and, therefore, join the African American Studies faculty's urgent call to action and reaffirm our commitment to advocating for social justice. The History Department acknowledges the intellectual debt the historical profession owes to African American Studies, since scholars of the African American experience have been essential to advancing a nuanced understanding of how race and white supremacy have historically developed and operated in local and global contexts. The History Department's faculty is a community of scholars, teachers, and public intellectuals that is committed to combating ignorance, hate, and institutional racism in the classroom, on campus, in our discipline and in the academy, and in the wider world.

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