Abstract
“It’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.”
Begin At The Beginning
It has been a long and winding road for us, a journey that began in 2010 when one of us (David G. Embrick) chaired the American Sociological Association’s Section on Racial and Ethnic Minorities (SREM); the meetings were held in Atlanta that year. David L. Brunsma was the Chair-Elect of SREM for the meetings to be held in Las Vegas the next year. And while we would have (sometimes) deep conversations about what it would look like (and feel like) for SREM members to have their own journal, the actual brainstorming and outlining of a proposal to ASA to start a section journal began at the ASA Denver meetings in 2012. Tanya Golash-Boza chaired SREM that year and was supportive of our aims to get, what would eventually be Sociology of Race and Ethnicity (SRE), vetted and approved by ASA. It would be in the Spring 2013 issue of Remarks, the official newsletter of SREM, where Tanya formally announced the approval of SRE to the section and of us as the Founding Editors. The first announcement for the inaugural call for papers for SRE was made in the Fall of 2013 issue of Remarks by then SREM Chair Quincy Thomas Stewart. From where we stand now, looking back, we are amazed at what we were able to accomplish and extremely proud of the fact that the creation and growth of SRE was very much a collective effort by both the leadership and membership of SREM.
Reminiscing about the 2012 ASA meetings in Denver, our draft for the proposal to create SRE was mostly planned at a downtown bagel store, Einstein’s Bagels. It was there that we wrote out the many concerns of SREM members who had talked with us about their experiences as racism scholars, including the challenges of getting the larger academic community to take their research seriously—and, certainly, the many concerns surrounding publishing racism and ethnic oppression research. We believed then, and continue to believe, that our aims should reflect fundamental recognition that academia is what Brunsma, Brown, and Placier (2012) referred to as built (and surrounded by) walls of whiteness and that ASA, of course, like many other sociological and social science organizations, is a racialized organization (Ray 2019). The reality, as noted by 2021 ASA President Aldon Morris, is that academia, to include the world of academic publishing, continues to struggle with even the basic ideals of racial and ethnic diversity, much less take seriously critical research on racism. With Race and Society, famed journal of the Association of Black Sociologists, discontinued in 2006, many SREM members commented to us their frustrations in finding the right fit for their research. Many scholars remarked to us their fears in being taken seriously by their peers who might review their papers if submitted to generalist sociology journals. The writing on these walls of whiteness was that many racism scholars did not trust their (mostly White) colleagues to do much more than treat their scholarship with distain rather than respect. Our decision to pursue an ASA section journal that would be recognized by the larger academic/sociological community, yet still beholden to the community of racism scholars that we have come to regard as family, was very much founded on the ideals of our collective community—to “publish the best research in the sociology of race and ethnicity and as such will help to significantly establish the contours of that rich and vitally important field” (Brunsma et al. 2015: 4).
Reflections On Where We Are At
As we write our final words for SRE, taking into account seven (7) volumes over our tenure as Founding Editors, we cannot help but to feel proud of our accomplishments, of the many stellar authors we have published, of the exponentially more reviewers who gave their time, energy, and expertise to constructively review submissions, and of the many folx that we have met and learned from along the way – and there are many, too many to name here. Whether or not you are fans of the Impact Factor, one measurement used in the world of academic journal publishing to gauge the frequency with which the average article has been cited in a journal in a particular year or set of years (we are not particularly fans), the fact that SRE’s current Impact Factor is 2.973 and receives over 200 article submissions per year (astounding for a young journal) is a testament to the needs and vitality of our community(ies) as well as an indication of how much the world needs critical scholarship on race and ethnicity.
Further, while not perfect by any means, we feel our continued efforts to take into consideration critical diversity (race/ethnicity, gender, institution, domestic/international, etc.) with regards to every aspect of SRE (Associate and Editorial Board members, peer reviewers, the authorship of accepted manuscripts published in SRE, invited Featured Reviews, etc.) is what sets our journal apart from many others. Certainly, we are not perfect. But, by weaving such critical inclusion into the very fabric of SRE, we have institutionalized a set of practices that reflect who we want to be. The creation of an active and engaged SREM Publications Committee ensures transparency and accountability. Again, is there more work to be done? Of course. Always. The journey is ongoing, and, as it took a village to create SRE, it will take a village to keep it in check, push it, and make it the best outlet for racism scholarship that it can be.
Reflections On Where We Are Going
The past few years have, if anything, opened some eyes to the fact that we live in a racist society. White supremacy forms the foundation from which the deep roots of institutional racism are embedded and weave their tangled web. Racism scholarship is needed more than ever. Hence, we have no doubts that SRE will serve as a necessary publication outlet for many years to come. In many ways, the inaugural issue of SRE has served as a catalyst inspiring many authors to be creative in their empirical, theoretical, or epistemological scholarship. Certainly, that issue inspired us to continue using Invited Feature Reviews to inspire potential authors to address shortcomings or stagnation in various subfields. Whether SRE will continue having Invited Feature Reviews is outside of our control, but we are certain that the journal has shown every indication that it is a welcoming venue for those who would look to engage critically in sociology(ies) of race/racism and ethnicity.
We are excited beyond belief at handing over the reins to incoming Editors Brian Foster and James M. Thomas (fondly known as JT). Already they have been thinking through how to expand SRE into the next years of its life; engaged with us in an effort to address our shortcomings, and have worked hard to understand how best to be more inclusive, particularly with regards to SREM members. As we move from our desk chairs to our rocking chairs, we are eager to continue reading the awesome scholarship being published by SRE in the years to come. The journal is in good hands. Please continue to send your scholarship to SRE.
Thank You
So, our journey comes to an end with Volume 7, Issue 4. We are ever grateful for the opportunity that SREM members have given us to serve as your Founding Editors—in many ways it was a dream come true. You have supported us, through thick and thin, and for that we are most appreciative.
We would not be where we are without our larger SRE team. Much love and thanks to our book review editor, Steve Garner, and our pedagogy editor, hephzibah strmic-pawl, both of whom have stood fast with us since the very beginning. And to our Managing and Assistant Managing Editors, Maggie Nanney, Kevin Zevallos, Whitney Hayes, and Amy Ernstes; and our Social Media Coordinators, Kaitlyne Motl and Inaash Islam, we owe you our utmost thanks and gratitude. We also recognize our Associate Editors over the years, whose support have been meaningful and beyond words: Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, Michael Emerson, Matthew Hughey, Tanya Golash-Boza, Amanda Lewis, Douglas Hartmann, Michael Omi, Mary Romero, Rogelio Saenz, and Adia Wingfield Harvey.
Finally, to the many SREM members we have interacted with over the past many years—from authors, to reviewers, to the people we have met during our demystifying the publication process workshops given at almost 40 campuses around the US, to SREM leadership, and to scholars who have reached out just to say hi—we offer our heartfelt thanks.