A University of Virginia professor has taken a leave of absence from the school after he came under scathing attack over the weekend for likening the Black Lives Matter movement to the Ku Klux Klan.
Douglas Muir, who teaches at the school, commented on Facebook that he believed that Black Lives Matter was the ‘biggest’ racist organization since the KKK.
Muir, who lectures at UVA’s Engineering School and who also owns a restaurant in the area, was responding to a Facebook post that included a photograph of a recent appearance by BLM co-founder Alicia Garza in Charlottesville, the campus newspaper Cavalier Daily reported.
‘Black lives matter is the biggest rasist organisation [sic] since the clan [sic],’ Muir commented on a post by local realtor Roger Voisinet.
‘Are you kidding me. Disgusting!!!’ he wrote.
Garza was speaking at an event in the nearby Paramount Theater. The headline of the evening was ‘Rooting Out Injustice: Poverty, Race and the Role of Legal Aid.’
The fallout from Muir’s comments compelled him to delete the comment. The university released statements indicating that it was distancing itself from the professor.
‘A recent comment regarding the Black Lives Matter movement, posted on social media by Doug Muir, a lecturer in our school, has raised serious concerns about UVA Engineering’s commitment to diversity, inclusion and support of populations that are traditionally underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and mathematics,’ UVA’s Engineering School said in a statement.
‘While free speech and open discussion are fundamental principles of our nation and the University, Mr. Muir’s comment was entirely inappropriate. UVA Engineering does not condone actions that undermine our values, dedication to diversity and educational mission.’
‘Our faculty and staff are responsible for upholding our values and demonstrating them to students and the community. Mr Muir has agreed to take leave and is preparing his own statement to the community.’
Critics, though, want more punitive actions. The mayor of Charlottesville, Wes Bellamy, even called on the public to boycott Muir’s restaurant.
Bella’s Restaurant is an Italian eatery that Muir co-owns with his wife, Valeria Bisenti.
‘Ms. Bisenti, with the assistance of her husband Douglas Muir, wanted to create an atmosphere where the customer always knows they will get the best of everything, just like at Mama’s house in Rome, according to Bella’s website.
‘The notion that #BlackLivesMatter can be comparable to the Ku Klux Klan is not only incredibly misguided, but goes to show the lack of cultural awareness that still plagues many professors at our Universities across the country,’ the mayor wrote on his Instagram account.
Bellamy defended Black Lives Matter as a movement that seeks to ‘address systemic oppression and racism’.
The NAACP is calling on the university to dismiss the professor.
‘Not only should they drop his class, the university should get rid of him, if they can,’ an NAACP representative, Rick Turner, told WVIR-TV. ‘They should not allow him to stand in front of students again.’
The university said that Muir plans to make a public statement on the matter soon.
Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3830775/The-biggest-racist-organization-klan-Professor-takes-leave-absence-university-likening-Black-Lives-Matter-Ku-Klux-Klan-scathing-Facebook-post.html