stanford professor was accused of racism after he claimed that parents' opposition to mask mandates is caused by their 'whiteness'
A Stanford University professor who claimed parents' opposition to mask and vaccine mandates is caused by their 'whiteness,' has been accused of racism.
Hakeem Jefferson, a black political science professor at the California university, tweeted on August 17, when he claimed the protests are inspired by 'whiteness,' while applying the same logic to the January 6 Capitol riots.
'Whiteness is the most pressing threat to the nation that isn’t climate change,' one of Jefferson's tweets read.
Pictured: Hakeem Jefferson, a political science professor at Stanford, who claimed anti-mask and vaccine protests are inspired by 'whiteness'
'Make no mistake, this crazy opposition to mask wearing that is leading folks (read white ppl) to act violently at school board meetings & council meetings & everywhere else—yeah, you can’t disconnect it from whiteness,' he wrote.
Jefferson made it clear that any kind of national dialogue on such subjects are 'incomplete' until this 'whiteness' is acknowledged.
'And discussions that don’t acknowledge this are incomplete.'.
Jefferson added that white people believe such 'whiteness' puts them above the law.
'Ain’t like masks are comfortable for non-white people. But you don’t see a bunch of Black folks storming meetings. And it’s not just cause these white folks are GOP,' he stated.
'It’s cause they’re white, & believe whiteness confers upon them a kind of power that places them above gov action.'
The Stanford professor further stated that whiteness is not a skin color, but rather an 'ideology,' and that even some people of color are 'committed to the ideology of whiteness.'
'It is attractive to those it so often oppresses.'
Jefferson currently serves as a faculty affiliate with the university's Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity, with his dissertation earning him the 2020 Best Dissertation Award from the American Political Science Association.
According to his website, Jefferson specializes in the politics of African Americans and those who support the 'tough-on-crime' politics of the GOP.
For his part, Jefferson says his job is to 'clarify and contextualize' racism, which he calls 'core features of the American project.'
'It’s like my reaction to jan6. You don’t have to be an expert in identity to know that whiteness is driving the behavior,' his Twitter tirade continued.
Jefferson is a political science professor at Stanford University
Anti-vaccine mandate protesters demonstrate, on August 24, 2021, outside of the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, to support the Vaccine Choice and Anti-Discrimination Act
'The crowds are overwhelming white. You think this just randomly happened? Nah, whiteness be working overtime. Like we say in the south, the devil is busy!'
Twitter users were quick to criticize his tweets.
'This is facile, childishly simple minded, and racist,' one person replied.
'You should find a profession that does not require the ability to connect with reality. What do you do again?'
'What the hell are you blabbering about,' another wrote in response.
Meanwhile, Campus Reform reached out to Jefferson for a comment on his tweets, which prompted him to tweet again, this time mentioning the outlet by name and claiming his classroom antics are even more radical than his Twitter.
'A reporter from Campus Reform reached out to ask if I have any comments on this tweet because they’re writing a story about my comments. I think the tweets speak for themselves. Wait until they hear how I teach about race and injustice in the classroom!' Jefferson tweeted.