DI has documented statements by John McWhorter on Education, Free Speech, and Press Freedom. Read the quotations, original sources and related cases below.
Role at the time: CODA honorary faculty fellow interviewed by Reason
Mixed or conditional
Statement summary
McWhorter finds concerns about survivors' participation and disruption understandable, while preferring to hold the event.
“it may have made the more reluctant people less apprehensive”
Open source (opens in a new tab)A Free Speech Group at Columbia Canceled an Event About Free Speech Over 'Cornell 7' Article ControversyInterviews with Eli Noam, John McWhorter and other participants
Why we used this label
The case concerns cancellation. His sympathy for its safety rationale is qualified by his preference to proceed with the event.
Columbia Open Discourse Alliance canceled a press-freedom panel after the Sundial published its Cornell 7 essay. CODA cited survivors' participation and safety. Critics challenged the cancellation; faculty advisers gave qualified assessments of that decision.
