Racist anti-black fliers have reportedly been found circulating two college campuses in southern states: Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, and University of Oklahoma in Norman. The fliers are entitled "Why White Women Shouldn't Date Black Men" and "Race and Intelligence: the Facts;" both are full of unfounded, racist propaganda.
Kathleen Crowther, an associate professor of the history of science at Oklahoma University, tweeted photos of the fliers Monday, describing them as "white supremacist" and "alt-right."
Crowther tells Complex that the mood on campus since the election has been anxious, tense, and angry. "I've heard several students (primarily women of color) express fear about coming on to campus in the week since the election. Other faculty have reported similar experiences," Crowther says.
According to Crowther, this isn't the first recent incident of racism on campus. She tells Complex that the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences called an emergency meeting on Monday "to discuss a range of incidents on campus, including the racist flyers."
Crowther says, "those incidents include a student at the University of Oklahoma harassing 150 black freshman at the University of Pennsylvania by sending them viciously racist text messages that included pictures of lynchings, a black faculty member having racial epithets called at him while playing at a park with his 3-year-old children, students being shouted at, spat upon and having water bottles flung at them as they walk to class."
"Many of us are worried about our students' physical and mental well being. There was some white supremacist propaganda posted around campus about a month ago," Crowther tells Complex.
The University's president, David Boren, tweeted a statement Monday, writing "There will never be a place at this university for expressions of hate and bigotry."
Boren also tweeted that the student who was involved with harassing and abusing students at the University of Pennsylvania is no longer a student at the University of Oklahoma.
The Southern Methodist University student paper, the Daily Campus, reports that the student body senate released a statement about the fliers stating that upholding the school's values, "doesn’t only mean not engaging in activities that threaten the well-being of our fellow students, but also not allowing those we surround ourselves with to partake in these events. Because these incidents often leave perpetrators faceless, we must all do our part in promoting a campus culture that allows every SMU student to feel safe."
SMU's president R. Gerald Turner also released a statement about the fliers on Wednesday, writing that the fliers were "hateful, arrogant, and hurtful" in tone.
To counter the fliers found on their campus, SMU students created posters that promote the importance of diversity, according to the Daily Campus. "We're better together!" the signs read, with facts about the benefits of interacting with peers who are of different backgrounds and identities.
