EXCLUSIVE: ASU student government paid communist $15,000 for virtual speech
The Arizona State University student government offered self-proclaimed communist Angela Davis $15,000 for an event that lasted slightly longer than an hour.
Other leading left-wing professors have been paid similar rates by top universities and government agencies.
The Arizona State University Student Government paid self-proclaimed communist Angela Davis $15,000 for an event that lasted for an hour and fifteen minutes.
Davis — a former member of the Communist Party USA and a founding member of the Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism — spoke on February 18 at an event called “Remaining Resilient & Rejoicing in Freedom.”
A contract secured via public records request by Campus Reform reveals that Davis earned the equivalent of over $13,000 per hour after completing the forty-five minute moderated discussion and a thirty-minute question and answer period.
The USG and ASU’s Black African Coalition (BAC) co-hosted the virtual event.
The university’s event description says that Davis “has been deeply involved in our nation’s quest for social justice” — specifically, “economic, racial and gender justice.”
ASU published a statement by BAC President Aniyah Braveboy ahead of the event, outlining the motivation for inviting Davis.
“To achieve our goals, the BAC wished for Dr. Angela Davis to be our keynote speaker as she has been on the forefront of her advocacy and the epitome of a strong Black woman and Black power beginning in her teenage years,” Braveboy said.
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As recently as 2016, Davis has reaffirmed her support of communism.
Other left-wing academic activists have been given similar speaking fees by universities and government agencies.
Another contract obtained by Campus Reform between Purdue University and Critical Race Theorist Robin DiAngelo shows that the professor was paid $7,000 for a two-hour virtual event entitled “Pursuing Racial Justice Together.”
Affirming that “black people can absolutely uphold a system that oppresses Black people, and they can benefit from upholding that system,” DiAngelo told attendees that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is “an example of someone who absolutely helps enact policies and practices that are racist or have racist outcomes.”
Meanwhile, the Oregon Department of Education paid $50,000 to 1619 Project founder Nikole Hannah-Jones for two virtual speeches, which equated to a $14,000 hourly rate.
The Oregon state government, however, pulled the funds from a program meant to help disadvantaged children reduce educational absenteeism.
Campus Reform reached out to ASU and the USG; this article will be updated accordingly.
