A professor of political science at Duke University is causing controversy with racially insensitive comments he made in the New York Times.
Jerry Hough made the remarks in response to an editorial the Times had recently published entitled?”How Racism Doomed Baltimore.” In a portion of his remarks, Hough claims:
“Every Asian student has a very simple old American first name that symbolizes their desire for integration. Virtually every black has a strange new name that symbolizes their lack of desire for integration.”
President Obama has what some consider to be a “strange” name, Professor, but he is about as integrated into American society as you can be: He’s the President of the United States!
Hough also wrote the following gibberish in his comments to the Times:
“In 1965 the Asians were discriminated against as least as badly as blacks. That was reflected in the word ‘colored.’ The racism against what even Eleanor Roosevelt called the yellow races was at least as bad.?So where are the editorials that say racism doomed the Asian-Americans. They didn’t feel sorry for themselves, but worked doubly hard.”
Duke University students and the administration of the school reacted swiftly to Hough’s controversial ramblings.?Virginue Marchand, a student at Duke remarked:
“He represents the whole school in that one comment and that’s not a good image for the school. It’s really inappropriate.”
Vice President for Public Affairs and Government Affairs Michael Schoenfeld was even more forceful in his statement:
“The comments were noxious, offensive, and have no place in civil discourse. Duke University has a deeply-held commitment to inclusiveness grounded in respect for all, and we encourage our community to speak out when they feel that those ideals are challenged or undermined, as they were in this case.”
In April, a noose was found hanging from a tree on the Duke campus. An unnamed student was disciplined as a result of that incident.
When asked by the press to defend or retract his comments, Hough responded by email with this statement:
“Martin Luther King was my hero and I was a big proponent of all the measures taken at the time, including Affirmative Action. But the degree of integration is not what I expected, and it is time to ask why and to change our approach. I am, of course, strongly against the toleration of racial discrimination. I do not know what racial intolerance means in modern code words and hesitate to comment on that specific comment.?The issue is whether my comments were largely accurate. In writing me, no one has said I was wrong, just racist. The question is whether I was right or what the nuanced story is since anything in a paragraph is too simple.”
There are conflicting reports on what action, if any, Duke has taken in response to Hough’s comments. One report says he has been suspended, while Hough maintains that he has taken a leave of absence.
