Students are grieving the loss of their professor, but expected to continue as normal.
“I was walking with my mom and I saw a message in a GroupMe from my fellow Black peers, and it was basically just a ‘RIP Professor Hall’ message. I didn't know if he actually passed away until about 15 minutes went by, then an actual email came through. And it was official. I stopped in my tracks,” said Charlotte native Kierrah Glover, a junior taking AAAD 130.
On Monday, April 20 at around 2 P.M., students enrolled in AAAD 130: “Introduction to African American and Diaspora Studies” and AAAD 356: “The History of Hip-Hop Culture” received emails about the sudden passing of their professor Dr. Perry A. Hall. Although department heads and colleagues contacted undergraduates in his sections, lectures have not been canceled for the rest of this week and the University has yet to release a statement on his unexpected death. This morning, a formal notice was sent out to students about “Campus communication regarding mental health and wellness during COVID19.”
In the time of coronavirus, grief has become increasingly more complicated, as people mourn the year that would have been and honoring loved ones with cultural traditions and ceremonies is no longer viable. The toll is even harder on grieving students of Dr. Hall’s, as they grapple with his passing and must navigate the final week of classes.
While these circumstances are unprecedented, the administration’s inability to acknowledge his death and students' needs raises the question of whether UNC sincerely cares about our mental health. Hall, a scholar who was integral to the African, African American, and Diaspora Studies department, was beloved by so many and left a lasting impact on numerous people at Carolina, especially Black students and alumni.
Glover, a biology major pursuing a minor in AAAD, said, “I took [this course] with him because my brother, who's nine years older than me, took several courses with [Dr. Hall] when he was enrolled at the University of North Carolina. He told me good things about him. If I had not called my brother, he would not have known [about his passing], and that was his favorite professor.”
Hall was known for his cool, calm, and collected demeanor, his passion for teaching, and his love for Black history. He genuinely cared about Black students and their intellectual growth, challenging their thoughts on widely-accepted narratives in American history and even their relationships with certain hip-hop artists and rap music. He would show up at events and rallies hosted by the Black Student Movement, the Real Silent Sam Coalition, and more, supporting Black causes and campus activism. Little did students know that his message to them on April 14th would be his last.
Carolina alumna Aitza Burgess Reynolds ‘17 recently reached out to him to check on his family in Detroit, which has been adversely impacted by COVID-19. She fondly reflects on conversations with him in his AAAD 259: “Black Influences on Pop Culture” class, but not the University’s poor mishandling of student trauma.
“Disappointed, yes, but not surprised. This is very typical behavior of Carolina. We've seen it many times before around things that deal with trauma, whether it's you know, sexual assault survivors, seeking help or comfort,” the 25-year-old said. “Or with students of color, particularly Black students. When the Sons of the Confederacy were on campus, even when I was an undergrad about five years ago, we were being told to go back to our dorms so we wouldn't cause a disturbance — as if we didn't have a right to feel safe and secure on the campus that we were paying money for.”
Reynolds recounts an email she received as a first-year student about the death of Dr. Feng Liu, an Eshelman School of Pharmacy research professor whose life was taken in a robbery/homicide. Though the circumstances were different and Liu’s death was widely publicized by local media, then-chancellor Carol Folt was quick to notify the student body.
Sophomore Maha Ballard, an information science major in Hall’s AAAD 356 class, said, “It doesn’t have to be a high profile case for someone to be acknowledged. I'm not sure in previous years if there’s been a professor who's passed away that we've gotten an email for, but in this one...from David Pier, saying that [Hall] was a ‘pillar of our department’, I would only expect that there'd be an email notifying the general public. Given that Black students are a minority on campus, having a fellow Black professor — which there are so few of — not be acknowledged is really disheartening.”
Ballard is an executive member of the Black Student Movement at UNC serving as the 2019-2020 outreach chair, and they recently hosted a Fall 2020 course registration event. She says that upon guiding freshmen to register for classes, she recommended they take AAAD 356, citing it as one of the first classes she took that consisted mostly of Black students. Her class is meeting today to discuss the logistics of how they intend to move forward, but she regrets that future students will not be able to experience a class with Dr. Hall.
Junior sociology major Veronica Joseph always wanted to take the class with him, especially being the 2019-2020 entertainment co-chair of the Carolina Union Activities Board. First and foremost, she believes the University should inform the campus and release a statement soon, just as they would with any “sad occurrences” (i.e. when chancellors resign or faculty members leave the University). Secondly, she hopes to see the administration give students the platform to mourn, whether it be through a virtual vigil or a conference for students to speak about his impact.
Similar to Reynolds, Joseph said, “I am disappointed to hear that they have been moving forward as though it hasn't happened, or even, you know, forcing students to still go to class and not even being able to grieve their professor when they just find out about his passing. I'm disappointed but not surprised that the university is acting in this way because they've made it very apparent that Black bodies don't matter as much. They don't get as much attention compared to the white bodies on this campus.”
Any student who has known or been taught by Dr. Hall can only hope that the University honors him in a way that is comparable to the monumental impact he had on the Carolina community and the years he dedicated to the AAAD department, but only time will tell.
Updated on 5/3/2020: On 4/22/20, the UNC-Chapel Hill Dept. of African, African American, and Diaspora Studies released a memorial tribute on the department website. However, students have yet to receive a “[FORMAL NOTICE]” message from Chancellor Guskiewicz via email regarding Dr. Hall’s passing.