Education

Black Professor Suspended For Saying Black Lives Matter Protesters ‘Should Be Hung’

Black Lives Matter Getty Images/DANIEL LEAL-OLIVA

Font Size:

Officials at a for-profit Christian university in Phoenix, Arizona have suspended a theology professor for declaring that some Black Lives Matter protesters “frankly should be hung” at an event organized by the school.

The school is Grand Canyon University, reports The Arizona Republic.

The professor is Toby Jennings.

The Grand Canyon University-sponsored “Ministry Forum” at which Jennings stated that some people affiliated with Black Lives Matter “frankly should be hung” occurred almost a year ago — on Sept. 19, 2016.

The focus of the Sept. 16, 2016 “Ministry Forum” was the application of the Christian concept of justice in contemporary society. Jennings was one of four professors who spoke.

Approximately an hour into the forum, someone in the audience posed a question about Black Lives Matter.

Jennings, who is black, answered by saying that Black Lives Matter is “not a monolith.” Some Black Lives Matter members are “very gracious and discerning” and “very thoughtful,” the theology professor opined. Jennings then added that other people associated with Black Lives Matter are, in his view, “people on the opposite extreme of that that frankly should be hung.”

Some statements by some Black Lives Matter members are “not helpful to any way, shape or form of human dignity or flourishing,” Jennings continued. “That kind of rhetoric is not helpful to any conversation. And that’s what I mean by they should be hung.”

This YouTube video shows the forum in its entirety:

Local Black Lives Matter members and local members of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) informed Grand Canyon’s top brass about the professor’s comments last week.

“The University wants to be clear that the professor’s rhetoric in no way reflects the heart of this University or its dedicated students, faculty and staff,” school officials said in a 1,799-word statement about the year-old remarks.

Jennings has now offered a public apology.

“I deeply and sincerely regret having communicated such ill-motivated rhetoric — particularly in light of our nation’s present rhetoric-saturated distress,” Jennings said. “While words, once spoken, can never be taken back, my hope is that my sincere apology for my own words can pave a more gracious path toward reconciliation.”

Leaders from Phoenix-area Black Lives Matter and NAACP branches told Grand Canyon University provost Hank Radda they believe the words chosen by Jennings are dangerous.

“Left unchecked, this sort of divisive rhetoric is a dangerous seed in the soil of impressionable mind,” the activists said, according to the Republic. “While Dr. Jennings may have been privately contrite, the loaded language of lynching has been part of the tapestry of the GCU culture.” (RELATED: Black Lives Matter Wants To OUTLAW Confederate Groups And Flags Now)

Grand Canyon University’s top management blamed underlings for failing to rat out Jennings sooner.

The College of Theology “did not escalate the matter to University executives,” they said.

“One terrible statement will not define this University or divert us from our dedicated commitment to our Christian values,” school officials said. “We will continue to pour ourselves into the diverse community surrounding our campus.”

Jennings has been silent on Twitter for about a month. His last tweet, on July 22, is a link to an article he wrote on Christian hospitality.

On the website Rate My Professors, Jennings receives a stellar rating (and a coveted hotness pepper).

Some students say Jennings “really explains everything well and with passion. He “can go on rants and off topic very easily.” Other students say classes can be “pretty dry.” Overall, students tend to agree that Jennings is “very caring” and “a moderate grader.”

Follow Eric on TwitterLike Eric on Facebook. Send story tips to erico@dailycaller.com.

PREMIUM ARTICLE: Subscribe To Keep Reading

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign Up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
BENEFITS READERS PASS PATRIOTS FOUNDERS
Daily and Breaking Newsletters
Daily Caller Shows
Ad Free Experience
Exclusive Articles
Custom Newsletters
Editor Daily Rundown
Behind The Scenes Coverage
Award Winning Documentaries
Patriot War Room
Patriot Live Chat
Exclusive Events
Gold Membership Card
Tucker Mug

What does Founders Club include?

Tucker Mug and Membership Card
Founders

Readers,

Instead of sucking up to the political and corporate powers that dominate America, The Daily Caller is fighting for you — our readers. We humbly ask you to consider joining us in this fight.

Now that millions of readers are rejecting the increasingly biased and even corrupt corporate media and joining us daily, there are powerful forces lined up to stop us: the old guard of the news media hopes to marginalize us; the big corporate ad agencies want to deprive us of revenue and put us out of business; senators threaten to have our reporters arrested for asking simple questions; the big tech platforms want to limit our ability to communicate with you; and the political party establishments feel threatened by our independence.

We don't complain -- we can't stand complainers -- but we do call it how we see it. We have a fight on our hands, and it's intense. We need your help to smash through the big tech, big media and big government blockade.

We're the insurgent outsiders for a reason: our deep-dive investigations hold the powerful to account. Our original videos undermine their narratives on a daily basis. Even our insistence on having fun infuriates them -- because we won’t bend the knee to political correctness.

One reason we stand apart is because we are not afraid to say we love America. We love her with every fiber of our being, and we think she's worth saving from today’s craziness.

Help us save her.

A second reason we stand out is the sheer number of honest responsible reporters we have helped train. We have trained so many solid reporters that they now hold prominent positions at publications across the political spectrum. Hear a rare reasonable voice at a place like CNN? There’s a good chance they were trained at Daily Caller. Same goes for the numerous Daily Caller alumni dominating the news coverage at outlets such as Fox News, Newsmax, Daily Wire and many others.

Simply put, America needs solid reporters fighting to tell the truth or we will never have honest elections or a fair system. We are working tirelessly to make that happen and we are making a difference.

Since 2010, The Daily Caller has grown immensely. We're in the halls of Congress. We're in the Oval Office. And we're in up to 20 million homes every single month. That's 20 million Americans like you who are impossible to ignore.

We can overcome the forces lined up against all of us. This is an important mission but we can’t do it unless you — the everyday Americans forgotten by the establishment — have our back.

Please consider becoming a Daily Caller Patriot today, and help us keep doing work that holds politicians, corporations and other leaders accountable. Help us thumb our noses at political correctness. Help us train a new generation of news reporters who will actually tell the truth. And help us remind Americans everywhere that there are millions of us who remain clear-eyed about our country's greatness.

In return for membership, Daily Caller Patriots will be able to read The Daily Caller without any of the ads that we have long used to support our mission. We know the ads drive you crazy. They drive us crazy too. But we need revenue to keep the fight going. If you join us, we will cut out the ads for you and put every Lincoln-headed cent we earn into amplifying our voice, training even more solid reporters, and giving you the ad-free experience and lightning fast website you deserve.

Patriots will also be eligible for Patriots Only content, newsletters, chats and live events with our reporters and editors. It's simple: welcome us into your lives, and we'll welcome you into ours.

We can save America together.

Become a Daily Caller Patriot today.

Signature

Neil Patel