One day after British academic Jason Arday was found dead, controversial author and antiracism activist Ibram X.Kendi ignited a social media firestorm by accusing the mainstream media of contributing to his death because of his skin color.If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.In an article for The Emancipator, a publication Kendi co-founded, titled "The Media Lynched Jason Arday," Kendi argued that the "White-owned, mainstream media" contributed to Arday’s death through "waves of attacks" over plagiarism allegations and inconsistencies about his personal biography."The death of Jason Arday hit so close to home that I had no words yesterday," Kendi wrote in an X post on Saturday.EX-CAMBRIDGE PROFESSOR FOUND DEAD AFTER PLAGIARISM SCANDAL LED TO ABRUPT RESIGNATIONIbram X.
Kendi sparked online backlash after accusing the mainstream media of contributing to British academic Jason Arday’s death.(Joe Giddens/LOCOG/PA via AP; Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)"But I woke up with words," he continued.
"To be a prominent antiracist Black scholar is to know you are a target, almost totally surrounded by resentments.You know that at any point, the attacks can come like a lynch mob.
And if you die from all the attacks, the media still calls the attacks on you ‘accusations’ to wash their hands of the blood.Your lynchers announce your death as if they had no role in your lynching."Arday recently entered the international spotlight amid doubts over his claims that he was non-verbal until age 11, practically illiterate until 18 and ran 30 marathons in 35 days for charity, as well as allegations that he plagiarized portions of his academic work.
The controversy prompted an investigation into the sociology professor, who resigned shortly after.The comments sparked an online uproar, with critics pushing back on Kendi’s response to Arday’s shocking death."Ibram X Kendi, of course, blames Jason Arday's...