Untold Journeys: Exploring Furman and Greenville’s Connections with Asia is a collaborative Digital Humanities project, produced by two Furman undergraduates—Eli Kibler and Eva Kiser—and a professor of art history—Kylie Fisher—that explores the contributions of Asian and Asian American students and faculty at Furman as well as community members in the surrounding Greenville area. It amplifies the stories of missionaries, students, professors, businesspeople, and refugees who journeyed between South Carolina and Asia from the late nineteenth through the twentieth century. These individuals impacted the communities in which they lived and cultivated places of belonging, and Untold Journeys seeks to honor the paths they paved for successive generations of Asian and Asian American descent at Furman and in the Upstate. 

We, the faculty of the Department of Asian Studies, unequivocally support the Black Lives Matter movement.  We see the pain and suffering that white supremacy and structural racism have inflicted on Black communities in the US and worldwide.  We denounce the murders of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and so many other Black people in the US, and we are committed to the lifelong work of anti-racism.

We recognize that academic institutions have been instrumental in creating and maintaining white supremacy, and that the field of Asian Studies is no exception.  Members of our field have both experienced and fought against racism in many forms, but those experiences do not absolve us of the need to acknowledge that anti-Black racism is an urgent issue that we must do more to address.  We commit to regular self-examination in order to create a more diverse curriculum and more inclusive pedagogical practices.  The burden of addressing the insidious effects of racism and bias in our society cannot continue to fall primarily on those who are most harmed, and therefore we see these efforts as central to our work.

As a department that has no Black faculty, we also recognize that we must speak with humility in voicing our support for antiracist action.  We believe it is critical both for our department and for the university to improve our recruitment of Black faculty, staff, and students, and we will work with other departments and university organizations to make this a priority.  We deeply value the contributions of the Black students majoring in our department, and will strive to foster, protect, and grow this community.  In particular, this year we will focus on amplifying the voices of Black scholars, thinkers, authors, directors, and creators in Asian Studies.

Creating equity will not be a short process, and we are committed to it for the long run.  Our ultimate goal is to create a department in which Black faculty, staff, and students can thrive.