Read on Twitter
My students are not allowed to call me Jennifer. (Former students who have graduated, sure).
My first semester at my current college, students regularly tried to call me by my first name. I reminded them that it’s “Professor Sadler”....
My first semester at my current college, students regularly tried to call me by my first name. I reminded them that it’s “Professor Sadler”....
2/ Some grew very annoyed that I insisted on being called professor. At an institution that takes pride in removing hierarchies, I wasn’t okay with that forfeiture of my work.
3/ I was told “only phds get called professor here” (which wasn’t true) to smooth over the discussion that I needed to drop the title.
I refused.
I refused.
4/ I explained to admin the historical treatment of Black and brown people in education, as well as the fact that I hold a degree from an institution my grandmother was never allowed to attend. The response was that I should use this as a teaching moment for students.
So I did.
So I did.
5/ The next semester, I started with historical context & ended with a family story that explained why saying “Professor” is not always a symbol of hierarchy but can be a sign of respect for the tremendous effort it took for him/her/them to be able to hold that position.
6/ You should have seen their faces as they each left my classroom and said “goodbye Professor Sadler”. They got it.
7/ I don’t have my PhD...yet. When I do you’ll call me Dr. b/c I earned that distinction. It doesn’t make me better, it means I’d have a deep skill in research. All that to say, I still have a great research skills now and my position is, quite literally’ “Assistant Professor”
8/ For a while, I’ve been annoyed that I even need to explain myself rather than being addressed the way I prefer. However, some people absolutely need the lesson. Not just for my classroom, but they also need to be able to teach others and carry this into other classrooms.
9/ I also think we don’t discuss issues happening at our current institutions enough for fear of losing credibility, employment, or favor. They didn’t hire you to be silent and, if they did, you aren’t obligated to feed into that.
10/ If you thought the conversation about Dr. Jill Biden is some anomaly in addressing women scholars as Mrs. vs Dr, you should read about how extensive this issue actually is.
11/ Finally, if you want to learn about some incredible Black scholars (many with PhDs), check out http://CiteBlackAuthors.com , our initiative to amplify Black academic voices. Im sure @DrBiden would co-sign the importance of this work. 
