By Charles Brooks
In recent months, there’s been an
unmistakable trend amongst college professors who dare to express their
political views and opinions. Professor
Lisa Durden was fired from Essex County College because of controversial remarks
she made on June 6
th as a guest on the Fox news program,
The Tucker Carlson Show. She
was invited on the show to discuss her views about a black only
Memorial Day
event sponsored by a Black Lives Matter chapter,
The Black Youth Project 100. The show host, Tucker Carlson, took issue
with Ms. Durden when she expressed her support for the event as the two engaged
in a heated exchange on the air.
Well, Ms. Durden’s comments set in
motion a series of events that ultimately ended with her termination as an
adjunct professor at Essex County College.
She was immediately suspended for six days before a
public meeting was held where school administrators decided to terminate her employment. Essex County College President, Anthony
Munroe said in a
statement:
“In consideration of the College’s
mission, and the impact that this matter has had on the College’s fulfillment
of its mission, we cannot maintain an employment relationship with the adjunct.”
But when taking a closer look at the
actions taken by the College, their actions do appear questionable and contradictory
when there’s another line of facts to consider. There’s the matter of her affiliation
to Essex County College that was not displayed during the program because she
was identified as a political commentator.
Mr.
Munroe even admitted as much in his statement when he said that her comments "...was in no way claiming to represent the views and beliefs of the College, and does not represent the College..." But he went on to say: "The College affirms
its right to select employees who represent the institution appropriately and
are aligned with our mission,” which clearly applied to Ms. Durden just a few
months back when she was hired in January.
In fact, two months after came on board,
she was a panelist in the school’s annual conference, ironically under the
theme: “
Radical Humanities:The Radical Tradition in the Humanities”. Ms. Durden appeared on the “Radical
Approaches to Women and Film” panel where her topic of discussion was
Women in Media.
But before coming to Essex, she was a
frequent guest on Fox News shows as the resident supporter for Black Lives
Matter and other topics related to race. She
participated on a Black Lives Matter
panel,
debated pro-police supporters such as
Mark Furhman and
Bo Dietl, provided
biting commentary about Dallas police officers being shot, and she chimed in on the
resignation of the University of Missouri President after
racism emerged there
.
Meanwhile Ms. Durden has taken her case
to the court of public opinion via interviews and social media. Her supporters
have held
rallies and press conferences as well as started an
online petition with 2460 signatures. Even
conservative voices have
joined the chorus of supporters for Durden and her reinstatement.
Ms. Durden joins a
long line of professors who have
felt the whip of retribution - such as Professor's
Keeanga Yamatta-Taylor
(Princeton University),
Johnny Eric Williams (Trinity College), George
Ciccariello-Maher (Drexel University), Katherine Dettwyler (Delaware
University), Tommy Curry (Texas A&M), and Lars Maischak (California State
University) all have suffered in one way or another because they dared to
express their political views.
Discussion Question: In light of these facts, what are your
thoughts about this case? About professors expressing their political views? Should
the Essex County College reinstate Professor Durden? What can be done to ensure
the freedom of speech and academic freedom for college professors?