‘Something is wrong with White folk’: Washington & Lee prof has a history of controversial comments

Washington & Lee University economics professor Jim Casey has a history of making disparaging comments against White people.

At one point, he even suggested "something is wrong" with White people.

Washington & Lee University economics professor Jim Casey has a long history of making controversial comments, particularly against White people.

Campus Reform discovered a pattern of Casey making online statements disparaging White people, including a Nov. 2 video message in which he said “hey White men with half a brain, vote for Joe Biden.” 

In an earlier tweet, Casey said, “I fundamentally believe something is wrong with White folk.”

In another, he said that White men who were not “pissed” at Vice President Mike Pence following the 2020 vice presidential debate have “something fundamentally wrong” with them.

Days later, Casey criticized “White people” for not wearing masks.

He also accused Republicans of “white supremacy.” 

[RELATED: URI students want professor ‘White-List,’ threaten to sue if next president isn’t Black]

In 2018, Casey suggested a “temporary suspension” of voting rights for White people.

And, in 2017, Casey speculated that “White people have some type of genetic cognitive defect” for supporting President Donald Trump.

Earlier in 2020, Casey clashed with students on an Instagram page entitled Support W&L.

“I apologize for triggering so many snowflakes” he commented on the post, which portrayed evidence that liberal-leaning Americans feel freer in expressing their political opinions. 

Elizabeth Hertzberg, an undergraduate at Washington & Lee, expressed her concern over Casey’s comments to Campus Reform.

“Professor Casey’s prejudice against White people is incredibly concerning to me as a student of the university by which he is employed,” she said. “The mission of Washington and Lee University is to produce members of society who possess the capacity to think freely, critically, and humanely and daily conduct themselves with honor, integrity, and civility. His comments undermine that mission, and we should be holding our superiors to the same standards demanded of students.”

Hertzberg said that she finds it unlikely for Casey to “separate his own bias” from evaluating a student’s academic performance.

“In addition to his statements on Twitter, I have seen his engagements with students and alumni alike in comment sections on Instagram,” she added. “This raises the following questions: Is he encountering student social media profiles and seeing what politicians he or she follows? Does he look at a student’s ‘likes’ on Twitter and make a judgement on their ability to perform in his class before they even step through the door?”

Campus Reform reached out to Casey as well as Washington and Lee University for comment; this article will be updated accordingly.

Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @BenZeisloft