ACB’s confirmation exposes the hollowness of meritocracy discourse. ACB reminds us that this country remains a good Ol boys club, that nothing has changed. She is a good Ol boy—she wouldn’t have been confirmed if she weren’t.

ACB’s disastrous confirmation has me thinking about how Academia, too, is a good Ol boys club. So many candidates—particularly Blk women—are qualified, and lose out to others who “fit” better (which is code for they’re safer and more normative). ACB’s are all over academia.

There is no way to break this cycle. Unless, of course, the entire edifice of academia is reconfigured. Turned upside down. Unworked. Canons would need to be razed to the ground. There would no longer be tenure comms—job security would be built in.

But That’s not gonna happen anytime soon. So, for my “junior” colleagues, I want you to know: a job won is not a job earned. And a job lost does not reflect your capacity. So many of you are qualified. So many of you are brilliant.

But ACBs run rampant in the academy. Sadly, much academic work is mediocre. Creativity is hindered by canons. Courage and vision are stifled by tenure cases and microaggressions. Antiblackness silences black thinking and black beauty. “It is what it is” becomes the mantra.

Complacency and complicity are the normative academic’s tools for survival. ACB isn’t qualified. She isn’t smart. But that doesn’t matter bc she’s safe. Because she’s what the GOP wanted.

Search committees: do not lie to yourselves. Do not assume you’re picking the best candidate. You’re picking the one that fits with your politics the best. Or you’re picking the most visible one. Either way, it’s only coincidence that the one you pick is actually the best one.

I want us to be honest. I need that for us. Bc if not, then we’re nowhere near close to anything that looks like transformation.