College loses donors, students after black professor’s posts

HARTFORD, Conn. – The president of a private Connecticut college says several incoming students have withdrawn and about $200,000 in donations has been lost over a black professor’s social media posts about white supremacy.

Trinity College president Joanne Berger-Sweeney said Monday that 16 incoming students and some past donors cited the scandal involving sociology professor Johnny Williams as the reason behind their decisions.

Threats related to posts by Williams led the college to close its campus in Hartford for a day in June.

Berger-Sweeney has said Williams shared a piece that concluded with a call to show indifference to the lives of bigots. Williams says his posts were twisted to sound as though they referred to June’s congressional shooting in Virginia.

Berger-Sweeney said last month Williams didn’t violate any policies.