Ibram X. Kendi backtracks after tweeting on study some say undermines his white privilege narrative

close

Video

Glenn Youngkin explains how he would fight critical race theory as governor

Author and prominent critical race theory advocate Ibram X. Kendi has deleted a tweet after critics argued it undermined the racial narrative upon which he’s built his career. 

Kendi, a humanities professor at Boston University, tweeted an article Friday by The Hill citing a study that found 34% of White students who applied to colleges and universities falsely claimed they were a racial minority on their application and that 77% of them were accepted.

U. MICHIGAN PAID CRITICAL RACE THEORY ADVOCATE $20,000 FOR A ONE-HOUR VIRTUAL DISCUSSION: REPORT

WASHINGTON, US - SEPTEMBER 26: American University professor Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, stands for a portrait at the School of International Service following a panel discussion on his new book  How to Be an Antiracist in Washington, DC. Kendis discussion spoke on strategies to identify and overcome racism on September 26, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Michael A. McCoy/For The Washington Post via Getty Images) (Michael A. McCoy/For The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Kendi summarized on Twitter: "More than a third of White students lied about their race on college applications, and about half of these applicants lied about being Native American. More than three-fourths of these students who lied about their race were accepted."

Kendi’s critics pounced on the tweet, saying it undermined his life’s work. The Post Millennial, which first reported the tweet, asked, "If white privilege is such a decisive factor, then why do white students feel that their applications would do better if they pretended to be something other than white, and why would those applications be so successful?"

Kendi later deleted the tweet without explanation and accused his critics of twisting his words.

"They lie about what I said to defend the lying of White college applicants," he wrote. "Here is their tortured line of thinking: When White applicants *think* they have an advantage by lying about being a person of color then that means they *do* have an advantage which then means structural racism doesn’t exist."

"They imagine White people are disadvantaged while White people are on the higher end of nearly every racial disparity," he added. "They imagine Black and Native people have racial advantages at the same time Black and Native people are on the lowest end of nearly every racial disparity. SMH."

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Ibram X. Kendi came under fire and was labeled a "racist" on Saturday for equating Amy Coney Barrett to "White colonizers" because she has two Black adopted children from Haiti.  (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)

Kendi, who authored the best-selling 2019 book "How to Be an Antiracist," is one of the leading figures pushing the implementation of "critical race theory" in schools. The controversial line of thought teaches racism is embedded in every aspect of American society, often called "systemic racism" on the left, and pushes for the dismantling of traditional power structures. 

Kendi has argued that the only way to undo systemic racism in America is to "consistently identify and describe it — and then dismantle it​."