[col. writ. 2/21/14] ©’14 Mumia Abu-Jamal
Dr. Anthony Monteiro is a name known among scholars, among activists, among sociologists and among the people of Philadelphia.
A brilliant, incisive thinker and teacher, Dr. Monteiro is a scholar’s scholar. He holds a Ph.D. in sociology and an honorary doctorate from Lincoln University. His works are among the most cited in his department, the Dept. of African-American studies at Temple University.
He is well-known for his expertise in the life and scholarship of perhaps the finest Black scholar of both the 19th and 20th centuries: W.E.B. DuBois.
By any measure, Dr. Monteiro himself is a fine and admirable scholar. So why is he facing a date when he will be dismissed from Temple?
Good question.
For Dr. Monteiro himself didn’t know, other than what he read in the newspaper. Reading a local paper, he learned that the school dean, Dr. Teresa Soufas, terminated his contract because she wanted the department to “go another way.”
Dr. Monteiro doesn’t buy it. He thinks, with considerable reason that he’s been targeted for daring to demand that the dean appoint a distinguished African scholar to lead the dept., which resulted in protests leading to the seating of Dr. Molefe Kete Asante as chair.
(Dr. Asante founded the department years ago.)
Dr. Montero’s supporters (who are many), are demanding his reinstatement and grant of tenure.
He has served as associate professor since 2003 at AAS (he was previously a tenured professor in the sciences), when he was invited to join the department with promises of tenure.
He is a hard-working man, who teaches in an interdisciplinary fashion. His classes are popular, and students routinely give high evaluations.
He is loved by many of his students, and he teaches with reason, passion and precision.
He is principled, and dedicated to North Philadelphia, where he has spent most of his life.
(An aside: I’ve known Dr. Monteiro since I was a teenager, when he was Tony. We often argued and debated issues of the day, and although we may’ve disagreed more than we agreed, I never left an argument without thinking through his points. He had the ability to make you think, question and think again. Those skills were (and are!) precious tools for any teacher, for he forces one to go ~ hmmm. He is also a devoted jazz aficionado, and historian, who can tell you when and where every classical, bebop and avant-garde musician ever entered, or played in North Philadelphia!)
Join the struggle to reinstate Dr. Anthony Monteiro, by writing: Phila. Activists Initiative. P.O. Box 34249, Phila., PA 19101
–© ’14 maj