SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA: A White historian has been lambasted online for claiming 'her professional life would have been better" if she was Black. Lois Banner reportedly expressed her views while speaking at the Berkshire Conference of Women Historians on Friday, June 30.
PhD candidate Stephanie Narrow reportedly attended the event and posted on Twitter, “Well, the Berks plenary just took a turn. A white senior scholar at the 50th-anniversary plenary VERY publicly, and unapologetically, said that she wished she was Black so her professional life would be easier.”
She continued, “She was immediately called out for her blatantly racist remarks, and refused to apologize, let alone listen, to the reason why her remarks were horrifying wrong. ‘You won’t change my mind, I’m 84 years old.’ The room is shaken, it’s palpable.”
“I don’t think this is reflective of the current @BerksConference leadership or membership, but a startling reminder of the blind spots that existed - and exist currently - in our feminism,” Narrow noted, before adding, “Other red flags from Banner’s Berks speech: ? converting to Sufism so she could write a biography. It does not sound like this was a genuine/lifelong conversion. ? she wished she was lesbian bc she was envious of the way lesbian scholars/activists built community & organized.”
Who is Lois Banner?
The American Academy in Berlin has described Banner as “professor Emerita of History at the University of Southern California.” The site mentioned she did a BA from the University of California, Los Angeles, before pursuing a PhD in women’s history from Columbia University.
Banner has also reportedly written a number of books, like ‘Power and Sexuality’, ‘Intertwined Lives: Margaret Mead, Ruth Benedict, and Their Circle’, ‘Women in Modern America’, and ‘Marilyn: The Passion and the Paradox’. Besides, she is the co-founder of the Berkshire Conference in Women’s History. In 2006, she was honored with the American Studies Association’s Bode-Pearson Prize for lifetime achievement.
‘I've never known a Black woman in academia who has had it easy’
Deirdre Cooper Owens, a Black historian who was also a speaker at the conference, called out Banner on Twitter. Owens said, “The Berks Conference was a beautiful one until it was soiled by Lois Banner’s hatefully racist comments. Yes, I did speak out forcefully against her vitriol because she needed to keep Black women’s name out of her mouth.”
Other people also condemned Banner on the internet as a user tweeted, “Lois Banner is 83 and I keep thinking of all the Black feminist scholars who never got to reach such an age.” Another user commented, “I've never known a Black woman in academia who has had it easy. I've had lots of conversations about how isolating and cruel the journey is. We shouldn't purchase, use in the classroom, or cite Lois Banner's books in response to her blatant racist remarks. Not my women's history.”
“So the Big Berks is a sh*tshow, unsurprisingly, though I am grateful to scholars like Diane Cooper Owens for shutting down Lois Banner's racism. Nonetheless, I attend for people like this, the best panel and audience ever. My Berks,” the third one wrote. The fourth one added, “Having worked as a TA for Lois Banner in grad school, the only surprising thing about this situation is that she went so public with her racism & narcissism.”
However, a statement from the Berkshire Conference of Women Historians said, “The Berks officers do not condone or support the inappropriate remarks made by one of the speakers tonight. A formal statement from the presidents will be made after the break.”
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