Interrelated struggles and the role of the academic in the fight for freedom

Abstract

Professor Biko Agozino delivered the keynote address for the launch of the new journal Decolonisation of Criminology and Justice on the 7th June of this year. He began his talk recounting his earliest memories as a child survivor of the Nigerian Biafra War that occurred in 1967 to 1970. Specifically, he called attention to the critical role of intellectuals and academics, trained at top Universities, in facilitating the conflict that claimed millions of lives through bombings and starvation. Genocides of Indigenous peoples are still occurring and state-sanctioned violence (e.g., police brutality, mass imprisonment, criminal justice system, inadequate housing) is commonplace for Indigenous and Black peoples(Benson & Lewis 2019, Estes 2019, Kanem & Norris 2018, Ritchie 2017). Professor Agozino asked for us to reflect upon the place of the academy and the role of the scholar-activist in the struggles occurring all around us.