Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Falwell Apologizes for Tweet That Included Racist Photo
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 4 years ago on
June 9, 2020

Share

RICHMOND, Va. — Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. apologized Monday for a tweet that included a racist photo that appeared on Gov. Ralph Northam’s medical school yearbook page decades ago.
“After listening to African American LU leaders and alumni over the past week and hearing their concerns, I understand that by tweeting an image to remind all of the governor’s racist past I actually refreshed the trauma that image had caused and offended some by using the image to make a political point,” he tweeted Monday.


Falwell, a stalwart backer of President Donald Trump and the son of the late evangelist the Rev. Jerry Falwell, said he had deleted the tweet and apologized “for any hurt my effort caused, especially within the African American community.”
Falwell’s apology comes after nearly three dozen black alumni denounced him last week, writing in a letter that his rhetoric has “repeatedly violated and misrepresented” Christian principles. They said they would stop urging students to attend Liberty, would no longer donate to the university and would urge fellow people of faith to avoid speaking at the school unless Falwell changes his behavior or steps aside.
An online instructor for Liberty, a black pastor who also teaches at Ithaca College, also announced his resignation online in response to the tweet.
Organizers of last week’s alumni letter responded to Falwell’s apology with a note of thanks, adding that they “are hopeful that healing and reconciliation can” result from it. The alumni also sought a meeting to discuss further changes, including the involvement of more “ethnically diverse pastors and advisors” on Falwell’s leadership team and the school’s board of trustees.
In late May, Falwell tweeted his opposition to a mask mandate from Gov. Ralph Northam in order to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.

He Initially Shrugged off the African American Alumni’s Concerns

Falwell tweeted that he was “adamantly opposed” to the mask mandate “until I decided to design my own.” With it, he posted a picture of a mask bearing a racist photo that appeared on Northam’s medical yearbook page and — when made public last year — sparked a scandal that nearly forced him from office. The photo showed a person in blackface and another in a Ku Klux Klan costume.
Falwell told The Associated Press at the time that his comment about the blackface scandal was made in defense of Liberty students, including minorities, who would be affected by tuition assistance cuts in a budget passed by the state legislature and signed by Northam.
He initially shrugged off the African American alumni’s concerns, saying in an interview last week that “I don’t blame” them for speaking out but that they “don’t know all that context” he was attempting to share in the now-deleted tweet. He also defended his involvement in politics as in line with Christian values, saying that Jesus criticized “the establishment of his day.”
Whether Falwell’s apology quells what had become a growing tide of criticism of his leadership style and occasionally inflammatory comments remains an open question.
Kaitlyn Schiess, a 2016 Liberty graduate who now lives in Dallas, said the apology itself was a surprise. But she was skeptical that it would significantly “change the minds of anyone who’s already been incredibly frustrated by his political support of Donald Trump and a lot of the statements he’s made.”
Falwell’s reversal and apology also come as a growing number of evangelical groups align with peaceful demonstrations seeking action on racial justice in response to the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Mitt Romney of Utah became the first GOP senator to participate a march against police brutality on Sunday, joining a group of nonpartisan marchers, among them evangelical Christians.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Caitlin Clark and Iowa Draw Nearly 5 Million Viewers for Second-Round NCAA Win

DON'T MISS

Canadian School Boards Sue Snapchat, TikTok and Meta for Disrupting Students’ Education

DON'T MISS

California Law Enforcement Agencies Obstruct Transparency Efforts in Use-of-Force Cases

DON'T MISS

No Police Charges for Taylor Swift’s Dad Over Paparazzi Incident in Sydney

DON'T MISS

Biden Administration to Lend $1.5B to Restart Michigan Nuclear Power Plant, a First in the US

DON'T MISS

Tonight’s Biden Fundraiser With Obama and Clinton Already Nets a Record $25 Million

DON'T MISS

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ VP Pick in 2000, Dead at 82

DON'T MISS

Trump Criticizes Judge and His Daughter After Gag Order in Hush-Money Case

DON'T MISS

Police Had About 90 Seconds to Stop Traffic Before Baltimore Bridge Fell. 6 Workers Are Feared Dead

DON'T MISS

NBC Has Cut Ties With Former RNC Head Ronna McDaniel After Employee Objections, Some on the Air

No data was found

Facebook News Tab Will Soon Be Unavailable as Meta Scales Back News and Political Content

11 hours ago

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Rises to More Records to Close Out Its Latest Winning Month

11 hours ago

A Fresno County First: Kerman Council Passes Amended Gaza Cease-Fire Resolution

11 hours ago

UN Top Court Orders Israel to Open More Land Crossings for Aid into Gaza

11 hours ago

How Involved Is Southern California Consulting Firm in FUSD Executive Dealings?

12 hours ago

Biden’s Fundraiser with Obama and Clinton Nets a Record $25 Million, His Campaign Says

12 hours ago

Fresno Unified’s Self-Protection Racket Is Hurting Our Kids

13 hours ago

Rockin’ Out or Laughing, the Valley Has Its Pick of Weekend Events

13 hours ago

Ex-Correctional Officer at Women’s Prison in California Sentenced for Sexually Abusing Inmates

16 hours ago

Caitlin Clark and Iowa Draw Nearly 5 Million Viewers for Second-Round NCAA Win

16 hours ago

PGA HOPE at Riverside Golf Course Introduces Military Veterans to the Game

PGA HOPE, now underway at Fresno’s Riverside Golf Course, is designed to introduce golf to veterans and active duty military members t...

9 hours ago

PGA HOPE at Fresno's Riverside Golf Course
9 hours ago

PGA HOPE at Riverside Golf Course Introduces Military Veterans to the Game

11 hours ago

Cronenworth’s Big Hit Helps Lift the Padres to a 6-4 Win Over Melvin’s Giants

11 hours ago

Shohei Ohtani Reaches 3 Times in Home Debut as the Dodgers Rout the Cardinals 7-1

11 hours ago

Facebook News Tab Will Soon Be Unavailable as Meta Scales Back News and Political Content

11 hours ago

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Rises to More Records to Close Out Its Latest Winning Month

11 hours ago

A Fresno County First: Kerman Council Passes Amended Gaza Cease-Fire Resolution

11 hours ago

UN Top Court Orders Israel to Open More Land Crossings for Aid into Gaza

12 hours ago

How Involved Is Southern California Consulting Firm in FUSD Executive Dealings?

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend