Prof. resigns from U. of Memphis after social media posts blasting whites
The University of Memphis announced Tuesday afternoon that Dr. Zandria Robinson will no longer be working at the school.
The university declared on Twitter that Zandria Robinson, a professor of sociology, was no longer employed by the University of Memphis but did not disclose the terms of her departure.
According to Headlines & Global News “[t]he University of Memphis fired [the] professor on Tuesday evening for controversial tweets.”
However, the UM press office has since confirmed to Campus Reform that the former professor resigned from the public university and will be transitioning to Rhodes College, a private institution.
Dr. Tom Nenon, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Memphis, called Robinson “a valued faculty member,” adding that he “hoped she would have stayed.”
However, it seems not all at the University of Memphis necessarily agree with Dr. Nenon’s comments. Louis Focht, the President of College Republicans at the University of Memphis, told Campus Reform that “[t]he derision of anyone based on race is totally unacceptable and shouldn't be tolerated at the University.”
Interestingly enough, it appears that at least one of Robinson’s new colleagues believes Robinson to be a victim—rather than a perpetrator—of “racist attacks.”
Dr. Charles McKinney, the Chair of Africana studies at Rhodes College, denounced the coverage of Dr. Robinson as “hard-right, anti-academic and uncritical...racist attacks.” Mckinney went on to praise Robinson as the “future of African-American studies, of Southern studies.”
"She is passionate; she is brilliant. She is one of the best writers writing about Memphis, the Bluff City,” McKinney said.
As originally reported by Campus Reform, Robinson has consistently attacked and disparaged “whites,” including students and fellow professors, using social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter. The professor took to Twitter to express her outrage in the aftermath of the Charleston church shooting.
According to National Review, Robinson said that Charleston shooter Dylann Roof was not mentally ill, but an example of “white people acting how they’re conditioned to act.”
Similarly, in a screenshot acquired by Campus Reform last week, Robinson stated that simply being white is an inevitable form of terrorism. Robinson espoused similar views in the aftermath of the Baltimore riots, in which she stated that “the only ‘riots’ that have significantly ruined communities &[sic] cost lives in American history are those perpetrated by whites against blacks.”
In addition to making the statement that the American flag is a symbol of “race, class, gender, & sexuality oppression,” Robinson made the claim that that the ultimate expression of love from “conservative whites” is to threaten someone else with “death and rape.”
Robinson has made numerous other tweets that fall along the same subject lines:
Rhodes College did not respond to Campus Reform’s request for a comment.
Follow the authors of this article on Twitter: @ Peterjhasson and @ LettyBurgin
