The dean of the University of Massachusetts Lowell nursing college has been fired after saying that “everyone’s life matters” while addressing the concerns of Black Lives Matter supporters.
Leslie Neal-Boylan sent an email on June 2 to the members of the Solomont School of Nursing to address the nationwide protests against police brutality and racial injustice following the death of George Floyd. In the email, Neal-Boylan acknowledged many of the concerns of the Black Lives Matter movement, but she outraged some by including the phrase, “Everyone’s life matters.”
“I am writing to express my concern and condemnation of the recent (and past) acts of violence against people of color,” she wrote. “Recent events recall a tragic history of racism and bias that continue to thrive in this country. I despair for our future as a nation if we do not stand up against violence against anyone. BLACK LIVES MATTER, but also, EVERYONE’S LIFE MATTERS. No one should have to live in fear that they will be targeted for how they look or what they believe.”
Screenshots of the email gathered attention online, with one person writing: “An upsetting statement made by the Dean of Nusing at UMass Lowell, including the statement ‘all lives matter’ was uncalled for and shows the narrow minded people in lead positions. A sad day to be a nursing student at UML. Dean Leslie Neal-Boylan your words will not be forgotten.”
The school responded to the tweet, writing, “Haley – Thank you for bringing this to our attention. The university hears you and we believe black lives matter.”
Haley – Thank you for bringing this to our attention. The university hears you and we believe black lives matter. See the letter the chancellor sent out Monday. https://t.co/WIrxOSC8o9
— umasslowell (@UMassLowell) June 5, 2020
Neal-Boylan was fired a few days after sending the email. University spokesperson Christine Gillette told Campus Reform that the decision was necessary to make students feel at ease.
“The university ended the employment of Dr. Neal-Boylan on June 19 after 10 months in her role as dean of the Solomont School of Nursing. As with all such decisions, it was made in the best interest of the university and its students,” Gillette said.
The university told the Washington Examiner in a similar statement that “although we are not able to discuss specifics of a personnel matter, it would be incorrect to assume any statement by Dr. Neal-Boylan was the cause of that decision.”
In response to her termination, Neal-Boylan sent a letter to the chancellor asking for an exit interview and a chance to explain her words.
“It is important to point out that no one ever gave me an opportunity to share my views of how the college and school were interacting nor explain myself regarding the BLM email. My meeting with you, [Dean] Shortie [McKinney], and Lauren Turner was clearly not intended to give me an opportunity to defend my actions. I was condemned without trial,” Neal-Boylan wrote.
In a separate letter, Neal-Boylan noted that she had never been accused of racism. She said that she has had no other blemishes on her record while working for the university.
“It seems clear that College Dean McKinney used my email regarding Black Lives Matter (BLM) as rationale to fire me. This is attributable to one phrase in my initial email that otherwise was very clearly a message to NOT discriminate against anyone. … It is clear that Dean McKinney used this as an excuse because my performance as dean has otherwise been without fault and has, in fact, strengthened the SSON. You might be interested to know that I have NEVER (in a 40 year career) been accused of racism,” she wrote.
Protesters have gathered throughout the nation demanding changes to policing and an end to racial injustice in the U.S. following the death of Floyd, a 46-year-old black man who died after an officer knelt on his neck for several minutes during an arrest.
