Professor Amy Wax Escalates Tensions by Inviting White Supremacist to Class

Penn Law professor Amy Wax has courted controversy ever since she called slavery the choice of black people and said that welfare has led to the decline of the black family, but those events were just the tip of the iceberg.

If you follow her Twitter feed, you’ll see she’s bringing in alt-right speakers and retweeting them regularly. Most troublingly,

she decided to invite Jason Richwine, a former John Hopkins University scholar who argued that Latinos and immigrants have lower IQs than white people, to her class on The Civil Rights Act of 1964 next week.

The story so far

Earlier this week, Professor Amy Wax released a Youtube video inviting white supremacist, Richard Spencer, to her Law School class as a part of an experiment in free speech.

The invitation followed a controversial op-ed she wrote for the Philadelphia Inquirer suggesting that socioeconomic differences among African Americans stem from the black community’s high rate of unemployment rather than the racial prejudices which exist across American society.

Wax quickly backpedaled after her speaking appearance at Villanova University and clarified that she does not share Spencer’s racist views or condone his actions.

Wax has now taken back her invitation for Spencer to speak at her law school.

What do we know about the speaker?

1. Cole is a white supremacist, who has previously published an article in Vox Day titled The Importance of Demographic Replacement. In the same essay, he goes on to tell readers that there is nothing healthy about having whites become a minority in America, and his goal is for all Americans to be either killed or sterilized.
2. Cole believes that American culture must be destroyed before it can ever be made healthy again, claiming:
3. John Bennett is going to speak at a Teach-In event alongside Professor Amy Wax on Monday night. He is an Associate Professor of Politics at Mount Holyoke College and writes on his blog how

Provocative speech at universities isn’t new

If you’re reading this and you’re asking, why is she inviting a white supremacist? please know that there’s been pushback against provocative speakers on campuses for decades.

This discussion has become especially contentious since the election of Donald Trump, who has been outspoken in his intolerance of people unlike himself.

However, history tells us that it’s not only people like Richard Spencer who have caused tense reactions on college campuses-radical leftist groups such as the Black Panthers and Anti-Racist Action have all provoked intense debate among student populations in recent years.

Many law schools have turned their backs on academic freedom

The rejection of free speech also goes against the American Constitution, which stipulates that speech cannot be restricted unless it poses a danger or violates someone’s rights.

There have been cases in the past where law schools barred certain speakers from coming onto campus and still faced little consequence for their actions.

In 2006, for example, the University of California Hastings College of Law prohibited Holocaust denier David Irving from speaking on its grounds after repeated warnings about his promotion of racism and anti-Semitism, but he was still allowed to speak without entering the school.

The court ruled in favor of this decision because it did not bar Irving from entering the private property; instead, he simply would not be able to get onto school grounds while carrying out his demonstration with racist rhetoric.

Where is this headed? (Where I hope it will go)

Amy Wax, Professor of Law at Penn, invited Nathan Damigo, a leading white supremacist and instigator of the deadly rally in Charlottesville last year, to speak in her class.

That decision speaks volumes about the current direction of discourse in America – where racism is becoming increasingly normalized and condoned. Professor  Amy Wax’s invitation is on par with Donald Trump asking neo-Nazi Richard Spencer to shake his hand at the country’s inauguration ceremony.

What you can do

The simplest thing you can do right now speaks up. A quiet resistance that shows up every day in your thoughts, relationships, and actions. Speak up on social media, and talk about this with your friends, and with your family.

Spread the word about Professor  Amy Wax’s dangerous ideology. Call for her firing. Find a petition online if you want to go more official than social media posts or informal conversations. Change starts from the bottom up so start today and speak out!

Don’t get me wrong- she can still be fired legally as her contract dictates if we do take action and successfully advocate for that – but change also comes from being vocal about what bothers us.

Keep browsing Law Scribd for more updates.