June 9, 2020
Dear Lehman English Students and Alumni,
In the last few days (weeks, months, years), we have been reminded that the coronavirus
and other public health crises are not the only threat that Black and Brown people in the
U.S. face. Rather, the pandemic exacerbates the systemic racism and violence on which the
U.S.—including U.S. universities—was built. The essential workers—the nurses, EMS
providers, grocery store workers, MTA employees, et al.—that government officials are so
quick to celebrate are the very Black and Brown people who are at disproportionate risk of
both COVID-19 and state violence. That violence continues even more acutely at the
hands of law enforcement and racist vigilantes, as we have seen in the devastating murders
of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, David McAtee, Tony McDade, and so
many more.
We, the undersigned Lehman English faculty, pledge to combat the racism, injustice, and
brutality that structure American life and by extension our curriculum. We are angry too,
which is why we are publicly declaring our commitment to decolonize the English
curriculum and work towards dismantling curricular and institutional racism at CUNY.
We know it might seem as if our English curriculum has nothing to do with people rising
up in over 75 cities across the country, and in solidarity protests all over the world. But it
has everything to do with it. In January, the English department began the long overdue
process of overhauling its curriculum by reflecting on what it means to teach within a
Hispanic Serving Institution. Prompted by student activism, including the November 10,
2019 open letter circulated by the Latinx Student Alliance, we recognized the urgent need
to redesign the curriculum with you, our Lehman students, in mind. This spring, we
agreed to dismantle the section of our Majors Worksheet that grouped together
Postcolonial literature, African American literature, Latino literature, and Asian American
literature in its own section. This sub-requirement, a vestige of a previous curriculum
revision from 20+ years ago, no longer serves us or our student body, and the suggestion of
“Choose one of the following” made it difficult for you to prioritize these courses.
At a March department meeting, we took a further step. Our faculty voted by an
overwhelming majority to make Black and Latinx literatures the centerpiece of a new
English core. Under this new curriculum, in addition to ENG 300 and ENG 350 (Senior
Seminar), the required core for all English majors will include ENG 339 Latinx Literature
and ENG 340 African American Literature. Faculty have volunteered to work over the
summer to complete our overhaul of key courses so that our new model can be voted on in
September and passed by the Faculty Senate for implementation in Spring 2021.
This timeline is an ambitious one. We share it with you for transparency, and so you can
hold us accountable. Our revised Majors Worksheet—with this new English core at its
center—will reflect our commitment to using our academic community platform to begin
update: Summer 2021
