Rufo: UNC reversing, giving critical race theorist Hannah-Jones tenure is a symptom of larger problem

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Chris Rufo says Joy Reid interview with him 'backfired' on MSNBC

Christopher Rufo, a Manhattan Institute senior fellow, on his interview with Joy Reid and 1619 Project founder Nikole Hannah-Jones being granted tenure at UNC.

The apparent reversal by the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill to give tenure to "1619 Project" creator Nikole Hannah-Jones is problematic in itself but more importantly a sign of a larger problem in taxpayer-funded academia, Manhattan Institute scholar Chris Rufo said Thursday.

UNC's board on Wednesday voted 9-4 in favor of granting Hannah-Jones, 45, a New York Times Magazine writer, after it initially rescinded a prior offer in May

Hannah-Jones had also threatened to not accept the teaching position at UNC's Hussman School of Journalism and Media without tenure after she was first granted tenure when she was initially offered the role of its Knight Chair in Race and Investigative Journalism. 

Rufo told "America Reports" that UNC's decision on Hannah-Jones, a prominent critical race theorist, speaks to the university system "more broadly."

"The important thing to understand [is] this is not really about Nikole Hannah-Jones as an individual," he said. "Departments of journalism across this country are a hotbed of ideological and very far-left views. This doesn’t surprise me in the least, but I think the attention should focus beyond the individual story of this writer and really thinking about the structural form that we might need in our university system."

Rufo noted that UNC is one of many schools that receive funding from the American taxpayer, but does not act as good stewards of that money in terms of serving the interest of the public.

"All too often they serve the interest of an ideological minority that takes taxpayer dollars to fund their private political activism," he said.

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Rufo argued that had Hannah-Jones been a prominent conservative instead of a far-left writer, she would not have been offered such a plum position.

"It's a massive double standard," he said. "We have to get at the heart of this problem [and not] focus on individuals but focus on deeper structural reforms to the public education system."

Rufo said that Hannah-Jones' supporters have at times conflated arguments as to why she should have the position.

"I think that’s a crucial distinction to be made, as an individual citizen of the United States you are entitled to your free speech rights, they're protected by the government, but you're not entitled to a tenure track position at a university that receives public funds," he said.

Rufo added that critical race theorists like Hannah-Jones have contributed to recent declines in polling regarding whether America is the best place in the world to live.

An ideology that wrongly believes America is grounded in racism and accusations of widespread contemporary oppression are "demoralizing" the public across all political affiliations, he argued.

Fox News' Joseph Wulfsohn contributed to this report.