Denied a vote on the pro-BDS resolution, MLAs protested

As the Modern Language Delegate Assembly began its meeting Saturday in New Orleans, the audience stood inside a hotel ballroom and chanted, “The more they try to silence us, the louder we get!”—video posted online.

Protesters, including many who attended the rally, read a resolution authorizing an international boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel policy—the very resolution the elected MLA Executive Council blocked from going to the Delegate Assembly and the full membership of the organization. by vote. Then, the protesters left the meeting.

It was one of many protests at this weekend’s annual MLA conference aimed at the Executive Council’s fall decision to overturn the decision without allowing members to vote.

That resolution—similar to the one attended by the American Historical Association conference that Jan. 5—we would also accuse Israel of “killing the school,” or deliberately ending the education system. But the AHA decision did not support the BDS movement.

The protests in these two meetings are the latest examples of scholarly organizations and their members debating whether they should say something as an organization about the ongoing war in Gaza at a time when politicians and people inside and outside the institution are criticizing academics and institutions by voicing it. opinions on current events.

Anthony Alessandrini, an English professor at the City University of New York’s Kingsborough Community College, said he led the call-and-response protest. A few shouts of “Shame!” he cried.

“Sometimes, this is what democracy looks like!” the protesters chanted in unison in the call and response. They raised their hands or fists in the air, while others held signs that said Alessandrini had the names of Palestinian scholars killed in Gaza since October 2023.

As they left the playground, protesters chanted “Free Palestine!” and “You don’t have a quorum!”—the minimum number of attendees a meeting must have to conduct legal business. However, the MLA said that the quorum has been maintained and the meeting continues.

The MLA Executive Council, an elected body, issued a lengthy statement last month explaining its October decision to reverse the decision. The council said it was concerned about a “significant” loss of revenue if members endorsed the BDS movement, and said legal restrictions in many states on cooperation with BDS-supporting organizations would limit MLA’s ability to contract with many colleges and universities and their libraries. It added that “some private institutions and large library organizations” also have such restrictions.

“A full two-thirds of MLA’s operating budget comes from the sale of resources to universities and libraries, including MLA International Bibliography,” said the council.

Dana Williams, president of the Executive Council and professor of African-American literature at Howard University, told Within Higher Ed On Saturday, he said the “primary reason” for the council’s decision was “trust,” but he also expressed concern about alienating the membership by supporting the BDS movement. Williams said “unity was one of the many things we were thinking about.”

A council statement in December suggested that MLAs consider something short of endorsing the BDS movement. “Would a motion calling for a statement against the killing of people in Gaza, while not focusing on BDS, be a strong expression of solidarity?” it said.

The unsuccessful decision of the Executive Council includes the resignation of two of its approximately 15 members, who were nearing the end of their terms. One was Esther Allen, a professor at the City University of New York’s Graduate Center and Baruch College.

“They don’t feel comfortable with any kind of member activism, they don’t want it at all on any topic,” Allen said. Within Higher Ed.

Williams said he supports members’ right to protest. “The association is a membership, we want to emphasize that,” he said. Members walked out and missed the “one-hour open discussion.” [during the meeting] that … there was fruitful, thoughtful interaction with those delegates who were there who will inform you about the actions of the council going forward,” he added. (MLA did not offer a remote option to view the meeting.)

The council continues to believe that rejecting the decision “was the right decision to allow the association to continue to do its important work of serving the members,” he said. “We have gained a council that is brave enough and has the courage to take tough decisions.”

Members of the MLA for Justice in Palestine circulated a pledge for members to promise not to renew their membership in the protest. Alessandrini noted that some scholarly groups have endorsed the BDS movement.

“My prediction is that many people will leave organizations like MLA and, I might add, AHA. [American Historical Association] if they don’t agree with the will of the members—and many organizations that have taken the right step,” he said.