Saying His Name: How Faith-Based Higher Education Leaders Addressed the George Floyd Murder

Abstract

As George Floyd’s murder in May 2020 catalyzed a global protest against systemic racism and police brutality, many executive leaders of institutions of higher education issued public statements on the tragedy. What the research has not made clear is how leaders of faith-based institutions address instances of systemic racism and police brutality, specifically analyzing which audiences are addressed, what institutional values are extolled, and how the institution plans to contribute to social justice initiatives in their community or nation. Conceptualizing the data using Noelle-Neumann’s spiral of silence and Lieblich et al.’s narrative theory, this study analyzed 254 statements made by leaders of faith-based institutions of higher education to investigate their commentary on the George Floyd murder and their institutions’ possible orientation toward social justice. Results suggest many faith-based institutions “say his name” and explicitly mention George Floyd, but many shied away from describing his death as a “murder,” while institutions were more likely to extoll religious beliefs than support Black Lives Matter or mention oppression experienced by Black and African American people. Implications for research, policy, and practice are addressed.