The noose: A case study in institutional miscommunication

institutional communications, micro-invalidation, race, unintended bias

When racial symbols appear on campuses, college administrators often experience a panic that outpaces their reactions to natural disasters or armed attacks. While this may be due to the latter two phenomena becoming more frequent in the US, thus engendering a more laissez faire attitude, anti-black aggression and the associated triggers appear to evoke leadership consternation and communication responses that can be perceived as more harmful than the originating event. In this case study demonstration, we invite consideration of the factors that may underpin universities’ crisis management racially-initiated reactions with an eye toward developing more appropriate communication-based plans of action.

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