Penn State faculty receive ‘vile,’ threatening emails after signing antiracist open letter

About 20 confirmed Penn State faculty members — and potentially dozens more — received racist, harassing and threatening emails Friday after signing an open letter centered on antiracism, according to several organizers of the letter.

The emails ranged from homophobic to misogynistic, with various messages using racial epithets and telling faculty members to commit suicide. The Centre Daily Times reviewed more than a dozen, with phrases such as, “kill yourself, you racist n*****” and “you self-hating r*****.”

University spokesperson Wyatt DuBois acknowledged the “appalling” messages that officials are aware of have been turned over to Penn State police for further investigation. The sender(s) of the messages was not immediately known, and it’s not yet known where the early investigation stands.

“We do not know the source of these messages, but regardless, they are vile and completely in contrast with the values of our university,” executive vice president and provost Justin Schwartz wrote to affected faculty Sunday night. “Please know that I fully support your right to express your opinions without fear of reprisal or this type of hateful retaliation.”

The hateful messages came in response to more than 400 Penn State faculty members and 50 additional supporters adding their names to an open letter to rally around antiracist faculty. The letter was prompted by a recent lawsuit from a white former faculty member who accused Penn State of racially discriminating against him, in addition to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling against affirmative action in college admissions.

In the letter, PSU faculty explained that educational institutions nationwide are facing attacks from “reactionaries” who promote inclusivity and equity as being racist and divisive. Letter signers supported the university in the lawsuit.

“We, faculty from higher education institutions across the United States, stand in solidarity with our colleagues at Penn State who have embraced ongoing efforts in diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB), which must be in addition to, not a substitute for, affirmative action and antiracist programs and policies,” the letter reads. “We understand the stakes of this lawsuit, which regardless of its outcome will have a chilling effect on DEIB and antiracist initiatives throughout systems of higher education.

“We call upon our communities to join us in showing support for colleagues who are being unjustly targeted by groups espousing hateful ideologies.”

The open letter originated around July 3, but the hateful emails were all sent this past Friday. The reason for the delay wasn’t immediately known, but a story on the open letter was published Friday morning in the Daily Mail, a right-wing U.K. tabloid.

“This whole assault is the reason that we need to have more antiracist instruction at the university,” said Paul Kellermann, a teaching professor of English, who received one of the hateful emails from a Hotmail account.

The university declined to answer how many racist emails were forwarded to Penn State police. But Kellermann — and two other organizers — confirmed they were aware of about 20 and, based on how deep into the list of signers the sender(s) made it, some organizers believed 50 or more faculty members might’ve been affected. “I’m speculating it’s more than 50,” said Julio Palma, an associate professor of chemistry at Penn State Fayette.

Palma, who referred to himself as a “non-white immigrant, someone who has an accent,” said he wasn’t surprised by the email that told him to, “Kill yourself, you racist s***.” And he didn’t regret signing his name to the letter or helping to organize it.

“I want society and our students to know that faculty who are involved in statements of diversity, we do it because we care about our students. We care about the education of this country and the well-being of the university’s citizens and the country’s citizens,” he said. “We cannot live in a colorblind society anymore, and we have to take a stand against racism. We have to talk about these topics in a safe space.

“So you may be uncomfortable, but what better place to discuss these topics than at the university?”

If any other individuals in the Penn State community have experienced similar harassment, the university asks that they contact University Police and Public Safety and report it at 814-863-1111.