University Must Reinstate Professor Who Tweeted About ‘Black Privilege’

An arbitrator found that the University of Central Florida failed to show “just cause” last year when it fired Charles Negy, a tenured professor whose comments generated outrage on campus.


The University of Central Florida must reinstate a longtime tenured professor who was fired after comments he made on Twitter were roundly condemned as racist following the murder of George Floyd, an arbitrator has ruled.

The arbitrator said that the university failed to show “just cause” in January 2021, when it terminated the professor, Charles Negy, the author of a book titled “White Shaming: Bullying Based on Prejudice, Virtue-Signaling, and Ignorance.”

“It was a fraudulent firing from the beginning,” Dr. Negy said in an interview. “Just because George Floyd died, which was a national tragedy, doesn’t mean the social mob gets to go around demanding people get fired just because they are offended by controversial comments.”

“If Afr. Americans as a group, had the same behavioral profile as Asian Americans (on average, performing the best academically, having the highest income, committing the lowest crime, etc.), would we still be proclaiming ‘systematic racism’ exists?” he wrote.

In another comment on Twitter, he wrote, “Black privilege is real: Besides affirm. action, special scholarships and other set asides, being shielded from legitimate criticism is a privilege. But as a group, they’re missing out on much needed feedback.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/19/u...einstated.html