Florida Professor Charles Negy Under Fire For Controversial ‘Black Privilege’ Tweets

Charles Negy, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Central Florida, is under fire for tweeting controversial remarks about “black privilege” amid the nationwide outcry for police reform after George Floyd’s death, reported NBC News.

He became very active on his Twitter account after Floyd’s death and the subsequent nationwide protests.

Many of his recent statements echo the sentiments he shared in his book, White Shaming: Bullying based on Prejudice, Virtue-Signaling, and Ignorance, which is about “white Americans” being attacked for multiple “transgressions,” including racism, microaggressions, white privilege, and more.

So…the publisher of my book, White Shaming, is working out some kinks in making sure the book is continuously available on both Amazon and B&N. In the meantime, the book is "in-stock" again and up on Amazon, in case you're interested. Thanks. pic.twitter.com/hZbhUYda3I

— Charles Negy (@CharlesNegy) March 2, 2020

“Black privilege is real: Besides affirm. action, special scholarships and other set asides, being shielded from legitimate criticism is a privilege,” Negy tweeted on Wednesday.

He went on to say that black people were “missing” out on necessary “feedback.”

In another tweet, he asked if black people “as a group” were considered by the “same behavioral profile as Asian Americans (on average, performing the best academically, having the highest income, committing the lowest crime, etc.), would we still be proclaiming ‘systematic racism‘ exists?”

NBC News quoted an email they received from the professor.

In the email, Negy stated that he believed “the lives of black people matter as much as the lives of anyone else in this country,” continuing by saying he thinks that everyone should be treated equally, meaning “no group is above scrutiny.”

Negy also stated that while he does believe in the humanity of all people, he does not endorse the Black Lives Matter movement, which he called “misguided” and even accused them of using “draconian tactics.”

Negy admitted that the timing of his tweets might have been inconsiderate, as he did believe that a “sadistic man” murdered Floyd.

The UCF employee also agreed that all of the officers involved in his death should “face justice.”

However, he added that the other remarks he made were things he felt needed to be addressed to “make progress on race relations.”

In the wake of Negy’s inflammatory comments, several petitions have begun circulating to get the professor fired. The hashtag “UCFIREHIM” started trending on social media this afternoon.

The University of Central Florida issued a statement via their official Twitter account to say that they are reviewing the professor’s tweets.

They also said that his beliefs are “completely counter” to the school’s values.

UCF promised that his comments were currently being investigated while keeping the constitutional right to freedom of speech in mind.

The outlet concluded the article by saying that a spokesperson for the university said more information regarding the situation is expected to come to light later today.

Being actively anti-racist means calling out and confronting racist comments. We are aware of Charles Negy’s recent personal Twitter posts, which are completely counter to UCF’s values. We are reviewing this matter further while being mindful of the First Amendment.

— UCF (@UCF) June 4, 2020