“Where’s Our Black Bereavement Leave?”
Professor Argues for Paid Time Off Leave for Black Staff to Deal with ‘Fatigue’ and ‘Trauma’ from Systemic Racism
Southern Illinois University visiting professor Angel Jones is arguing that Black people should get special paid time off as bereavement leave in order to deal with systematic racism.
In the article, “Where’s Our Black Bereavement Leave?” published in Times Higher education on February 23rd, Jones argues for special paid time off and mental health therapy for Black faculty and staff to deal with systematic racism
She writes:
I am a proud educator who loves what I do. But before that, I am a Black woman. A Black woman who is expected to return to “business as usual” on Monday after seeing a member of my community murdered on Friday. Although it is customary for employees to receive support and understanding while grieving the loss of a loved one, the same care is rarely shown to the Black community when we lose someone in horrific and traumatic ways. Where’s our Black bereavement leave?
This is an obvious, yet consistently underfunded, resource that could support Black faculty and staff who are dealing with trauma caused by racism and anti-Blackness on and off campus. Racial battle fatigue (RBF), a term coined by William Smith that refers to the psychological and physiological consequences of experiencing racism, has been well documented, yet its (sometimes deadly) symptoms continue to be minimised or ignored completely.
full story at https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/03/wheres-our-black-bereavement-leave-professor-argues-for-paid-time-off-leave-for-black-staff-to-deal-with-fatigue-and-trauma-from-systemic-racism/