Society for Armenian Studies (SAS) Statement on Anti-Racism

The Society for Armenian Studies (SAS) condemns the continuing violence against Black communities within and outside the United States, and we feel it is a matter of human dignity and our duty to express our outrage.  As a professional organization dedicated to understanding the complexities of the past and the present, we stand in solidarity with the Black Community and other Communities of Color and commit alongside them to the eradication of white supremacy, institutional and systematic  racism, and anti-Black violence with the aim to institute justice and human rights. We acknowledge that we are working in an academic system that was built on racist hierarchies. There is no meritocracy when racism is so deeply rooted in our society.  Silencing the voices of anyone (whether based on religion, language, gender, sexuality, skin color, ethnicity, etc) irreparably diminishes us all. The Executive Council of SAS stands with the Black Lives Matter movement and the Black community not only in working against anti-Black violence, but against all types of racial discrimination which is built on past historical injustices. 

The majority of the members of our Society are descendants of the Armenian Genocide. Discrimination and violence are part and parcel of Armenian history. Such history and experiences compel some to empathize with those who face injustice and engage in struggles of social justice. At the same time, we recognize that having been victim to discrimination and violence does not rid Armenian communities from having and acting on racist, sexist and other discriminatory views. As such we deem it highly important that Armenian Studies engage in critical research that examines concepts of race among Armenians across space and time, and what role race and racism has played in different Armenian communities around the world -particularly within the Armenian American community, which has also suffered its own share of discrimination and racist attitudes in the U.S., as documented in the past. To make our own contribution in this endeavor we would like to announce the beginning of a small grant to support research that analyzes race as it relates to the intersections of Armenian and Black communities in the U.S.  Details concerning this grant and how to apply will be forthcoming in the next few weeks.

 

June 24, 2020