George Washington University President Apologizes for Racially Insensitive Remarks

Thomas J. LeBlanc, president of George Washington University in Washington, D.C apologized for a remark that many observers believed was highly offensive to African Americans. In a video that was posted on social media, President LeBlanc was asked by a student if he would divest holdings of companies producing fossil fuels and close a center on campus that is funded by companies in the fossil fuel business if a majority of university students requested that he do so.

In response, President LeBlanc said: “What if the majority of the students agreed to shoot all the Black people here? Do I say, ‘Ah, well the majority voted?’”

After an uproar on campus, President LeBlanc issued a statement saying: “I attempted to emphasize a point and used an insensitive example that I realize could be hurtful to members of our community. The point I was making — that majority rule should never suppress the human rights of others — was obscured by the example I used. I regret my choice of words and any harm I unintentionally inflicted on a community I value greatly.”

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3 COMMENTS

  1. Why is it that Black people are oftentimes the scapegoat for stupidity of White people? This is what happens when others thinks they’re superior To others without any accountability to anyone, especially to the people they hurt or insult. What cause a person think such words of atrocity?

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