Threatened Scholars Fellows at CUNY DSI

Threatened Scholars Fellows at CUNY DSI

The "Threatened Scholars" program at CUNY DSI, made possible by a generous grant from the Mellon Foundation, seeks to broaden the scope of current conversations on censorship and suppression of civil liberties by examining the limits on people’s freedom to think and speak in fully-established and long-lasting democratic nations, such as the Dominican Republic. The Threatened Dominican Scholars program takes place over three academic years, from fall 2023 through 2026.

The call for applications was aimed at scholars, artists, journalists, and other producers of knowledge, who feel harassed, vulnerable, and in fear of losing their livelihood because their work challenges the status quo and the prevailing social order in Dominican society. These threats may include the risk of losing job promotion, denying or delaying of loans sponsored by the government, discredit and harm of reputation in social media, loss of employment for unknown or unclear reasons, social isolation, and police harassment and brutality for participation in peaceful demonstrations, among others.

Academic year 2023-2024 fellows

Ruth Pión. In fall 2023, Ruth Pión was the inaugural fellow in the program. An Afro-Caribbean woman, social researcher, and anti-racist and decolonial activist from the Dominican Republic with a strong interest in the history of black people, Ruth is the creator and CEO of the AfrohistoriaRD project, which seeks to connect with the history of enslaved African people on the island of Hispaniola through immersive and educational experiences such as historical tours, workshops, and various training and interactive programs designed for all audiences. Ruth has participated as a panelist in various national and international platforms to discuss issues related to racism, antiracism, feminism, gender, black history, and social movements. She is the co-founder of the Junta de Prietas collective and collaborated in the creation of the “Guía para la Formación en Perspectiva Antirracista”, a didactic guide to support grassroot organizations on integrating an antiracist perspective in their work. Ruth has degrees in Anthropology and Gender Equality from the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD) and the University of Castilla La Mancha, respectively. She has managed and worked on various archeological projects studying the history of slavery in the Dominican Republic.