The Weight of Resignation: Reflecting on Claudine Gay’s Departure from Harvard

 

“We’ve been doing it forever, being good at being better, always got something to prove” - Rayana Jay

I love telling the stories of brilliant and ambitious women who are shattering glass ceilings and making their ancestors proud. Claudine Gay’s journey—attending Stanford, and Harvard, two of the country’s most prestigious institutions—epitomizes the resilience and brilliance of Black women. This is why, from the moment news of her resignation as the first Black President of Harvard crossed my screen, a profound heaviness was felt in my soul—a weight carrying the echoes of generations of ancestors. The sensation is akin to the above lyrics of Rayana Jay's "Undefeated" playing on an endless loop in my mind, transforming the empowering anthem into a poignant reminder of the invisible chains.

In this country, Black children are ingrained with the belief that they must work twice as hard and be twice as good just to be acknowledged as half as good as their white counterparts. Claudine Gay embodies this struggle, a poster child for the relentless effort required for recognition. When she was first announced for the role of President of Harvard, Gay was quoted saying “As a woman of color, as a daughter of immigrants, if my presence in this role affirms someone’s sense of belonging at Harvard, that's a great honor.” Her tenure at Harvard, unfortunately, became overshadowed by renewed allegations of plagiarism in her thesis, "Taking Charge: Black Electoral Success and the Redefinition of American Policies,” and a major fumble during a Congressional hearing.

A quick backstory: my great-great-great-grandmother was a slave, my great grandfather was a sharecropper, my grandmother and mother were born in the segregated South, and both my parents grew up in NYC during the 60s and 70s. So to be reminded that all these generations later I’m still not allowed to slip up or make mistakes? It is the conscious-induced rage that James Baldwin once talked about.

Which is why, beneath the controversies there is an army of Black women outraged by this outcome. When women of color ascend to positions of power we have our credentials constantly called into question and face resistance when we don't conform swiftly. A political science powerhouse, professor of Government, and African and African American studies, many believe Gay resigned after receiving public admonishment for seeming to not condemn anti-Semitism, during a Congressional hearing on events at Harvard amidst the war in Palestine- another situation laden with racial undertones that evoke uncomfortable historical conversations. 

With Gay's resignation, a precedent has been set. She shattered barriers as the first Black President of Harvard, but her tenure lasted only from July 1, 2023, to January 2, 2024. I can't help but wonder what that means for the next generation of Black women in academia. Gay’s departure forces us to once again confront the challenges Black women face in school as well as the work place, the expectations placed upon us, and the thin line we must tread between asserting themselves and conforming to established norms. 

For those of us who are free in the physical sense, the struggle for true liberation persists. Despite educational and professional accomplishments, the reminder is harsh—freedom remains elusive. The expectation of a specific stance on global issues, as evident in the pressure faced by Black Americans regarding conflicts in the Middle East, highlights the perpetual challenge faced by a community striving for recognition and equality.

Claudine Gay's resignation is more than an institutional change; it's a testament to the ongoing struggle for acceptance and the nuanced challenges faced by Black women in positions of influence. Her story serves as a call to action, urging us to confront the systemic barriers that persist and do the work toward a world where the weight of these kinds of resignations no longer bear down on those breaking barriers for future generations.