The hashtag “CancelYale” began trending on Saturday following tweets calling on the Ivy League university to change its name due to its connection to slavery.
Conservative pundit Jesse Kelly mocked “cancel culture” by issuing a series of tweets Saturday, pointing out that Yale’s name was taken from Elihu Yale, a British merchant and slave trader who gave donations to the university, accompanied by “#CancelYale.”
“Yale University was named for Elihu Yale. Not just a man who had slaves. An actual slave trader. I call on @Yale to change it’s name immediately and strip the name of Yale from every building, piece of paper, and merchandise. Otherwise, they hate black people. #CancelYale,” Kelly tweeted.
Yale University was named for Elihu Yale. Not just a man who had slaves. An actual slave trader. I call on @Yale to change it’s name immediately and strip the name of Yale from every building, piece of paper, and merchandise. Otherwise, they hate black people. #CancelYale
— Jesse Kelly (@JesseKellyDC) June 20, 2020
Kelly sent out similar tweets throughout the day, garnering thousands of retweets and favorites.
Absolutely not. If @Yale is going to to make right its racist history, it’s endowments must be seized and distributed to black people. Also, all campus buildings will serve as low income housing. Otherwise, @Yale hates black people. #CancelYale https://t.co/M84apUSZea
— Jesse Kelly (@JesseKellyDC) June 20, 2020
“But if we’re tearing down the Confederacy, we’re gonna have to tear down a place named after a slave trader. @Yale must change its name immediately and issue a public apology. Or disband the university altogether. #CancelYale,” Kelly responded to one Twitter user who said that “2020 has zero chill.”
I take no pleasure in it, but if we’re tearing down the Confederacy, we’re gonna have to tear down a place named after a slave trader. @Yale must change its name immediately and issue a public apology. Or disband the university altogether. #CancelYale https://t.co/aeIvSWxv6x
— Jesse Kelly (@JesseKellyDC) June 20, 2020
To be clear, I do not think we should rescind every diploma from Yale University just because it was named after a slave trader. I do however think every holder of a Yale degree should be forced to give a public apology and/or lose their job. Stop supporting racism. #CancelYale
— Jesse Kelly (@JesseKellyDC) June 20, 2020
ATTENTION: The @Yale Center for British Art is currently displaying this painting of Elihu Yale, prominent slave trader. Yale hates black people and thinks they should be traded as commodities. #CancelYale pic.twitter.com/sYa2AvvI0u
— Jesse Kelly (@JesseKellyDC) June 20, 2020
Some on Twitter lauded Kelly for turning cancel culture “back on the originators of cancel culture.”
Watching @JesseKellyDC turn cancel culture back on the originators of cancel culture is the drug I didn’t know I needed today. pic.twitter.com/AjCl5AoZyn
— Rachel Bovard (@rachelbovard) June 20, 2020
Jesse Kelly has broken cancel culture. What a legend. https://t.co/23LmqE8Feu
— L (@SomeBitchIKnow) June 21, 2020
.@JesseKellyDC’s timeline is on the money. He’s taking cancel culture to its logical conclusion, and it’s terrifying. But that’s how this goes.
— Erielle Davidson (@politicalelle) June 20, 2020
Kelly also directed his mockery of cancel culture toward former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who earned her law degree at Yale.
Why did you attend @Yale University when it’s named after a slave trader? You’ve even returned to Yale to give speeches. Why do you support the slave trade and treating black people like cattle? Renounce Yale immediately or you’re racist. #CancelYale https://t.co/rrWWiF2XQy
— Jesse Kelly (@JesseKellyDC) June 20, 2020
Kelly’s slew of tweets come as people within the media, academia, and the entertainment industry have been fired or placed on leave in the wake of George Floyd’s death, and as activists shine a spotlight on race in the United States.
Top editors at the New York Times, the Philadelphia Inquirer, Bon Appetit, Refinery29, and Variety have resigned or been placed on leave, professors at colleges such as the University of California, Los Angeles, the University of Chicago, and Cornell University have been placed on leave or faced calls to be fired, and people in the sports and entertainment world have also resigned or been fired for race-related comments or actions.
Companies have also rebranded logos and mascots amid calls for racial equality, including changing the branding for Aunt Jemima breakfast products, Uncle Ben’s rice, and Cream of Wheat breakfast porridge, among others.
Yale University did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
