'WHITES ONLY?': Harvard prof likens Claudine Gay departure to Jim Crow racism

Harvard University Professor Cornell Brooks recently compared a display celebrating the resignation of former President Claudine Gay to Jim Crow-era signs designating that certain places were only for white people.

In a post to X on Jan. 3, the day after President Gay resigned, Brooks critiqued a truck’s display near the Cambridge, Massachusetts institution’s campus that stated: “It’s moving day, Claudine Gay!” in yellow and white font against a red background, with a picture of Gay on the right-hand side.

[RELATED: BREAKING: Harvard President Claudine Gay resigns]

WHITES ONLY?

This sign “It’s moving day, #ClaudineGay !“ is not only about gloating over the ouster of a “diversity hire.” It’s meant to be a 2024 “Whites Only” sign to make Harvard & higher education toxic for people of color and women.

It. Won’t. Work. #DEI #Diversity pic.twitter.com/xmbApKssNd

— Rev. & Prof. Cornell William Brooks (@CornellWBrooks) January 4, 2024

Specifically, Brooks likened the image to “Whites Only” signs that were used in Jim Crow-era America. He wrote: “This sign ‘It’s moving day, #ClaudineGay !’ is not only about gloating over the ouster of a  ‘diversity hire.’ It’s meant to be a 2024 ‘Whites Only’ sign to make Harvard & higher education toxic for people of color and women.” 

“It. Won’t. Work,” he added, while also including the hashtags, #DEI and #Diversity.

In comparing celebrations of President Gay’s resignation to racial restrictions from years ago, Brooks echoed a sentiment expressed by President Gay herself in her resignation letter, wherein she stated that she was “subjected to personal attacks and threats fueled by racial animus.”

As Campus Reform has previously reported, Gay resigned her presidency in disgrace after failing to unequivocally condemn calls for genocide against Jewish people.

Professor Brooks has also held many positions for organizations promoting social justice.

According to his profile on Harvard’s website, he is a Professor of the Practice of Public Leadership and Social Justice at the Harvard Kennedy School and Director of the William Monroe Trotter Collaborative for Social Justice at the Center for Public Leadership.

He is also the former president and CEO of the NAACP and the former president and CEO of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice.

[RELATED: Harvard profs slam DEI, call for reforms to enhance academic freedom]

The sign that Brooks critiqued in his post on X is not the only display of its kind on Harvard’s campus. Many similar signs have been sponsored by Accuracy in Media (AIM), which “uses citizen activism and investigative journalism to expose media bias, corruption, and public policy failings.”

On AIM’s website can also be found pictures of similar signs to the one that Brooks critiqued, including “Claudine Gay, it’s time to RESIGN” and “Claudine Gay REFUSES to protect Jewish students.”

Campus Reform has contacted Professor Brooks and Harvard University for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.