The anti-white professor at Boston University has finally spoken out about her controversial tweets on race, saying she regrets speaking “indelicately.” But at no point while expressing her regret did she apologize or say that she didn’t agree with the sentiments expressed in her tweets.
Newly hired BU professor Saida Grundy came under fire over the weekend when her tweets against white people went viral. Grundy had used the social media site to blame all white people for slavery and to call white males a “problem population.” Though her account is now private, the blog, SoCawlege.com, picked the tweets up and many called for her resignation or for BU to fire her, saying that she could not be impartial toward her white students.
Grundy rebutted those claims in her statement, obtained by Inside Higher Ed:
As an experienced educator, I take seriously my responsibility to create an inclusive learning environment for all of my students. Both professionally and ethically, I am unequivocally committed to ensuring that my classroom is a space where all students are welcomed. I know firsthand that students learn best by discussing these issues openly and honestly without risk of censure or penalty. I look forward to more dialogues about race, diversity and inclusion in my career at Boston University, and to having the honor of knowing and teaching some of the finest minds in the world.”
The avalanche of pressure for Grundy to make a statement hit a climax when the university’s president, Robert Brown, finally came out condemning her tweets.
In a letter he said, “We are disappointed and concerned by statements that reduce individuals to stereotypes on the basis of a broad category such as sex, race, or ethnicity. I believe Dr. Grundy’s remarks fit this characterization.”
He also mentioned that he must speak up when words become hurtful and “typecast and label its members.”
Despite his letter, Brown has refused to fire her, stating she has a right to hold and express her opinions.
Many are calling Brown’s refusal to fire Grundy a gross double standard. They argue that if a white professor made a comment about another race on Twitter, their career would likely be over. They point to Nancy Gordeuk, the Georgia high school principal who yelled about “the black people” leaving the graduation ceremony during the valedictorian’s speech, as their example.
While almost no one is defending the outburst by Goreuk, Grundy has thousands of apologists.
More than 2,000 people have signed a petition on Change.org, standing in solidarity with Grundy. Her supporters have also started a Twitter hashtag, #IStandWithSalda. Many of the tweets carrying the hashtag included anti-white rhetoric and anti-white sympathies.
Curiously, some of the Grundy’s supporters have on Twitter are white men- the same people she referred to as “slave owners” and “a problem population.”
