PUBLIC NOTICE | FORMAL CEASE AND DESIST
holly burgess issues FORMAL CEASE & DESIST to Marquette university
Sun 04/05/26 10:03 PM
PUBLIC NOTICE | FORMAL CEASE AND DESIST
On Sunday, April 5, 2026, at 7:30 PM, Marquette University, Marquette University Graduate School, and Marquette University English Department published an article featuring my name, research, and likeness without my verbal or written consent.
I am a federally registered whistleblower. This publication was issued as a retaliatory strike and a calculated attempt to manipulate the public narrative regarding my "Graduate Student Success" while the institution simultaneously strikes my fellowship funding applications ($35,800 and counting!) and subjects me to administrative brutality and institutional racism by their administration and tenured faculty.
As of 10:03 PM on April 5, 2026, I have issued a formal and final Cease and Desist to Marquette University and its administration.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) - Chicago Headquarters
Kenosha Police Department
Milwaukee Police Department
Chicago Police Department
Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center Police
Marquette University Police Department (MUPD)
This is not merely an academic dispute. Due to the severity of the threats against my life and the Burgess Family's in the wake of my father Gregory Burgess's passing, the following agencies have been dispatched and involved in active investigations:
I have formally transferred this case to external federal and state oversight.
This university action has been added to the 116+ page forensic audit currently being submitted to:
The U.S. Department of Education — Office of Inspector General (OIG)
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services — Office of Inspector General (OIG)
* The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Humanities Without Walls Auditors
Any further sharing, promotion, or distribution of this article—or any content featuring my name, likeness, or research—by Marquette University, its administration, or its employees through any university-controlled channels is a direct violation of my legal warning.
I will never be Marquette University’s Black DEI "Success Story" while this institution continues to harm me from behind its ivory towers.
TO MY NETWORK: This is an active federal, state, and legal investigation. If you see this article shared through any Marquette University channels (social media, newsletters, or donor communications), please:
1. Take a screenshot.
2. Email it immediately to holly-burgess@outlook.com.
Thank you for your support in protecting the integrity of my work and my rights.
Holly E. BurgessPhD Candidate, Department of English| Marquette University
Federal Whistleblower
#AcademicIntegrity #Federal Whistleblower #MarquetteUniversity #HigherEd #InstitutionalAccountability #JusticeForGregoryBurgess #ScholarActivist
UPDATE | April 5, 2026, 10:57 PM:
As of 10:57 PM, Marquette University administration has formally responded and confirmed that the article has been pulled from Marquette Today.
Let it be known: This public notice and the original "Cease and Desist" will remain live on this profile for forensic audit purposes. This serves as a permanent record to ensure Marquette University remains in strict compliance with the terms of my notice and does not attempt to recirculate my narrative or intellectual property through other channels. This timeline is now officially part of the active federal and state investigation into institutional retaliation and administrative brutality.
FINAL RECORD: ARTICLE RETRACTION
As of 10:57 PM, April 5, 2026, Marquette University has retracted the "Success Story" article published tonight. To prevent Marquette institutional gaslighting:
THE TIMELINE: I participated in this feature with final edits on March 23. However, the context fundamentally shifted on March 24, 2026, when I whistleblew for a second time after MU ignored my Oct 2025 report. This triggered a university-wide assault on my funding and reputation.
THE AMBUSH: Publishing this on Easter—during an active federal/state audit where I am the central whistleblower—was Institutional Bad Faith. Leaving it live for 3 hours and 27 minutes while striking $35,800 in my funding is administrative retaliation.
NEGLIGENCE: The failure to halt this despite ongoing federal audits proves massive negligence.
TO MY MENTORS: I am forever indebted to you. I do not need an administrative ambush Marquette Today article to speak my gratitude.
Reach me at holly-burgess@outlook.com.
NOTICE: My Cease & Desist remains active.
This is a permanent record for the federal investigation.
The audit continues.
NOTICE OF RESCISSION
Monday, April 6, 2026 at 7:19 PM
ALL ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AND EXPRESSIONS OF GRATITUDE REGARDING MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY, ITS ADMINISTRATION, AND ITS DONOR NETWORKS ARE HEREBY FORMALLY RESCINDED.
This action is taken pending the outcome of a Federal Civil Rights and Whistleblower Audit.
This site and its associated research on "Transcribing Brutality" now serve as a record of administrative and fiduciary negligence. Any further unauthorized use of my likeness or intellectual property by the institution is subject to immediate legal action.
About Holly
RESEARCHER, EDUCATOR, & PUBLIC SPEAKER
Rooted in Black history, refined by research,
and driven by the future of the culture.
Areas of Specialization: 20th and 21st Century African American literature; Black literature & Social Movements; Hip Hop studies; Film studies; LGBTQ+ and gender studies; Popular culture.
I am a doctoral candidate in the Department of English at Marquette University, specializing in 20th- and 21st-century African American literature. My research explores topics such as police brutality, revolutionary violence, Black martyrdom, legacy, and Hip Hop culture, spanning the Black Power Movement to the Black Lives Matter Movement. I analyze how resistance to extrajudicial killings is represented through literature, film, and popular culture, focusing on four generations of Black activists. Additionally,
I am a John D. McCabe Award for Excellence in Teaching award-winning instructor of first-year writing and African American literature, a certified film studies instructor, a poet, and a recipient of doctoral fellowships.
Scholarship in Motion
My work lives at the intersection of the archive and the community. By transcribing the legacies of Black activism across four generations, I aim to bridge the gap between historical literature and modern social movements.
current portfolio
My research centers on police brutality, revolutionary violence, Black martyrdom, legacy, and Hip Hop as key sites of Black political thought and cultural production.
I deliver interdisciplinary lectures that synthesize Black history, literature, music, and film to interrogate the evolving pulse of Black cultural production.
I teach African American literature and culture through an engaging, multimodal, and interdisciplinary approach that centers texts by Black writers, rappers, and scholar-activists.
I successfully translated my doctoral research into a high-impact undergraduate course, bridging archival theory with modern classroom practice.
I am committed to fostering interdisciplinary collaboration across research, teaching, DEI initiatives, and academic leadership.
My poetry explores Black thought, identity, history, and Black love. Explore my poetry page to hear me recite my poems.
recent publications
"With Bated Breath (In Memory of Greg)": Marquette Literary Review, Issue 16
Writing As a Black Scholar: Teaching Black Activism, Hip-Hop, and the Cost of Activism" for Bedford Bits Blog
"Capacitating Community: The Writing Innovation Symposium" for Community Literacy Journal
Current Read & current listen
current read:
“Walk a Mile in My Shoes” by Elvis Presley from the EPiC (Elvis Presley in Concert) Album.
Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention by Manning Marable
current Listen:
Let's Work Together!
*
Let's Work Together! *
As a Ph.D. candidate and public scholar, I am passionate about bridging the gap between archives and communities. Whether it’s a keynote on the history of Hip-Hop, a workshop on digital activism, or a guest lecture on the legacy of Malcolm X, I am eager to collaborate.
Current Focus Areas for 2026:
Guest Lectures: View the lecture introduction video for topics. Then, book Holly.
Curriculum Design: Incorporating Black social movements, Hip Hop rhetoric, and AAVE into the humanities.
Media&Public Scholarship: Translating academic research for broadcast and community audiences. See the press kit for more information.
Contact & engagement
Public Scholarship • Lectures • Creative Commissions
Holly e. burgess
Department of English | Marquette University
Marquette Hall, 008U
Research: Black Literature & Social Movements
Dissertation: "Transcribing Brutality: Violence, Martyrdom, and Legacy in Black Literature and Social Movements"
Web:hollyeburgess.com
EMAIL:
holly.burgess@marquette.edu
holly-burgess@outlook.com
she/her
Ph.D. Candidate & Cyril E. Smith Trust Family Fellow
“The people are the makers of world history.”