Professor slammed for asking students to ‘create a slave persona’
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A California professor is under fire for assigning students a project that involved acting out a fake “slave persona.”
LaShae Sharp-Collins, a professor at San Diego State University, instructed students to “create a ‘slave persona’” for an assignment worth 25 points in her Introduction to Africana Studies course, the Daily Aztec reported.
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Student Amari Jackson took to Instagram to share a screenshot of the assignment, writing that he “should never have to act like and ‘create a slave persona.”
He added: “But hey, at least my professor canceled the in-class presentations where she wanted us to act and dress in our personas,” but noted she only canceled them because there were too many students and not enough time to get through them all.
Students were asked to “read selected excerpts from slave narratives,” then write their own slave narrative by “researching for historical accuracy.”
The assignment involved creating a diary of a fake slave which was meant to be deeply personal and emotional as well as the kind of environment their persona lived in and what work they did.
Arguably the worst part? Sharp-Collins wanted it all done in Times New Roman font.
Most of the comments Jackson received were from shocked individuals calling it everything from “embarrassing,” “ridiculous,” “tone deaf,” “triggering” and “sick.”
One person wrote: “@sandiegostateuniversity needs to do better.”
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According to the paper, three students did not do the assignment and emailed Sharp-Collins about their discomfort and offered to complete an alternative assignment but their request was denied.
Dr. Adisa A. Alkebulan, the chair of SDSU’s Department of Africana Studies, disputed Jackson’s description of the assignment, telling the New York Post in a statement, “To be clear, there was never a requirement to dress as slaves or speak in ‘broken English.’
“Professor Collins is an outstanding educator and a valued member of our faculty and university community.”
The university’s Afrikan Student Union also defended Sharp-Collins, saying in a statement on social media that they had met with the professor to get some clarification.
“We as students know that Professor Collins would never do anything to harm students, and is committed to ensuring that every student is heard and respected inside and outside the classroom,” the statement read.
“This unfortunate misunderstanding is being resolved within the Black community between students, faculty, and staff as a collective.”
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