The Southern Sociological Society strongly supports DEI initiatives, including courses, curricula, and other programs that focus on class, race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and other forms of inequality, which are key issues within sociology as reflected in our broader society. Recent legislation has banned teachers and scholars, including sociologists, from teaching certain topics at all levels of education. The Southern Sociological Society opposes any attempts to limit sociologists as well as other teachers and scholars from teaching sociology content.
The Southern Sociological Society urges legislators and other public officials to protect the rights of educators to teach freely and openly about topics important to our society, including race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality, as well as educational institutions to pursue DEI initiatives to provide a more equitable environment for students, faculty, and staff. We further implore legislators and other public officials to protect the rights of all children and adults regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, immigrant status, or disability status.
Teaching and learning about racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and other systemic forms of oppression is integral to Sociology. Sociologists seek to understand not only how race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and so on are socially constructed but also how social structures continue to produce and reproduce inequalities that substantially impact individuals’ pursuit of happiness. It is vital that sociologists shed light on these dynamics in order to seek a better, more just society.