The director of the African-American-studies program at the University of Montana has been targeted for teaching a new class: “White Supremacy History/Defeat.” Professor Tobin Miller Shearer says that a flyer he put up detailing the new class was recently replaced by a sign that advertises a new, made-up class: “Black Nationalism History/Defeat.”
The Missoulian reports that Shearer first noticed the change Thursday morning. The professor said he was disturbed by the amount of time it must have taken to mimic his flyer.
From The Missoulian:
Whoever made the new flyer had copied Shearer’s layout, including the font and location of a photo, and changing the bullet points of the course objectives from ones like Shearer’s “Implement and evaluate a project to dismantle white supremacy in the U.S.” to the same line directed at “black nationalism.”
The false sign said the class also would include group projects “aimed at dismantling race-baiting hypocrisy.”
Shearer told the paper that although he isn’t surprised by the incident, “I am disturbed by this.” The professor reportedly landed on a national “Professor Watchlist” by Turning Point USA, a conservative group, for promoting a “radical agenda” and discriminating against conservative students.
The person who put up the flyer could very well teach a class in false equivalency. Because however you may want to equate white supremacy and black nationalism (we’re going to say it one more time for the cheap seats in the back), this country was not founded on black nationalism. Miscegenation laws weren’t created in the 1600s because of black nationalism. Voting and property laws were not created or informed by black nationalism.
One detail that stuck out to him about the fake-course flyer was that his name had been replaced by that of the former head of the African-American-studies department.
“It’s at best someone who knows the history of the program. At worst, it’s another faculty member who knows the history,” Shearer said.
Read more at The Missoulian.