Communicating social justice in the public sphere: the case of public higher education

Communication is central to how public administration addresses racial and social justice, with organizational leaders shaping these dialogues. This study examines 220 statements by U.S. public college and university presidents following the 2020 murder of George Floyd. Using racialized organization theory and interactional justice, the findings reveal that institutional context, such as HBCU status, often outweighs state socio-political factors in shaping discourse around the naming of systemic racism. Further, through discursive strategies like naming, blaming and claiming, leaders frame their commitments to addressing injustice. Public higher education demonstrates how public sector communicators advance and complicate racial equity dialogues.