Following racist tweets from University of Central Florida psychology professor Charles Negy, UCF tweeted that they are "aware of Charles Negy’s recent personal Twitter posts, which are completely counter to UCF’s values," and will be reviewing the incident while "being mindful of the First Amendment." In the midst of protests against police brutality throughout the country, Negy shared racist ideologies on Twitter, spurring a Twitter campaign, #UCFfirehim.
On May 29, Negy shared an article along with a tweet stating, "it's not like black people have any agency of their own, to stay in school, be the best student, abstain from crime, gangs, unwanted pregnancies, etc." The article shared was an opinion piece arguing that Blacks are protesting because the government is failing them. Many of the comments on the post disapproved of Negy's comments, and one response from reads, "Have fun getting fired you racist fool."
However, Negy's comments did not stop there. On June 1, he called out Billie Eilish, who posted a picture on Instagram along with a caption calling out those who stated "All Lives Matter" on Twitter. His tweet stated, "Maybe there's a lot of racism against Whites in this country (and it doesn't matter if some comes from self-loathing Whites)."
Negy's final tweets were on June 3, where he referenced an article and stated that "Black privilege is real: Besides affirm. action, special scholarships and other set asides, being shielded from legitimate criticism is a privilege. But as a group, they're missing out on much needed feedback." He also tweeted that he was excited for the new Uncle Tom movie coming out June 19 (yes, it's a real thing).
UCF's June 4 tweet stating that the situation with Negy would be reviewed was met with nearly 2,000 likes and several angry responses from students and Orlando residents. An alumnus replied to the tweet saying, "The 1st Amendment does not guarantee a platform. The 1st Amendment means the police or feds can't jail you for your beliefs. It is not counter to the 1st Amendment to fire a professor who clearly can't teach black students without prejudice. Sincerely, a UCF '08 journalism graduate." Another response from a student reads, "Among the many racist comments he’s thrown up on Twitter, please also consider the fact that he required students to read his unpublished manuscript in class (WHITE SHAMING) & write essays on it. Students should not be his unpaid editorial service."We welcome readers to submit letters regarding articles and content in Orlando Weekly. Letters should be a minimum of 150 words, refer to content that has appeared on Orlando Weekly, and must include the writer's full name, address, and phone number for verification purposes. No attachments will be considered. Writers of letters selected for publication will be notified via email. Letters may be edited and shortened for space.
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