In an article about the lack of diversity on a public board, doesn’t it seem a news organization has a responsibility to get the race and gender of the members of that board correct?
The News & Observer ran an article on Saturday, July 3, under the headline, “New Trustees join UNC-Chapel Hill board. Will they bring the more diverse ideas students want?”
The article states, “The board that voted to approve tenure for Nikole Hannah-Jones on Wednesday was made up of 10 white men, one Black man, one Black woman and one white woman. That was their last vote as a board.
“The incoming board is a bit more diverse with nine white men, two Black men, one Asian American man and one white woman.”
The problem is, that’s wrong. The N&O changed a black woman into a white man, which makes their argument stronger, but is incorrect. The correct diversity count for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Board of Trustees is eight white men, two black men, one Asian American man, one white woman and one black woman.
The article goes on to note that the new board has nine white males and continues to emphasize the lack of diversity.
The article was picked up by other news media, including the News & Record, and run with the same incorrect figures.
Marty Kotis, a Greensboro developer, is one of the new appointees to the UNC-CH Board of Trustees. Kotis tweeted, “Reading about the new @UNC Bot and find it strangely ironic that 4 major media outlets misstate the racial and gender makeup on the board by forgetting Trustee Teresa Artis Neal – an African American woman.
“@WRAL, @newsobserver @theobserver @NewsandRecord”
The article including the mistake was evidently picked up by both WRAL in Raleigh and The Charlotte Observer, giving it pretty wide distribution in the state.
The article actually includes a photo of Artis Neal along with other board members at the June 30 meeting.
According to the UNC-CH Board of Trustees website, Artis Neal was appointed to the board in 2019 and her term expires in 2023 meaning, that she has two more years on the board.
The Board should be made up of “ALL QUALIFIED MEMBES” and NOT chosen by race only. What do each of the members contribute by serving on the Board. Stop using race as the most important reason to elect persons to serve. We can do better than that I hope.
Hannah-Jones is a racial activist who sows resentment and animosity wherever she goes. She stirs up the very “hate” she claims to decry.
She has no business in any educational establishment.
Awww, did the smart, successful, black woman make you feel bad feelings? It’s okay Austin-waustin. You can still be a good person even if you benefited from generations of white power. You can just ignore this smart, successful, black woman since she won’t ever teach you in her new job at UNC-CH. It’s okay that you don’t understand how higher education is structured to work. Make sure you fight for her freedom as hard as you fight for your white freedom.
Big thank you to HOWARD UNIVERSITY!
Mommy Wommy, I did fight for her freedom to believe in, stand up and say whatever she thinks held her back in life. It is very easy for people to generalize about others. I do not know this person other that the hate and racism she spouts. Instead of trying to divide people because of race is the very definition of RACISM. If you think her book has credence, then by all means, spend your money and buy it. If you believe the garbage she has written, you will only inherit the hate she has for this country and the freedoms you have. These were afforded you by women and men of all colors and nationalities to make sure you would have the rights you enjoy.
Mommy Wommy: your comments are so biased and untrue. This person has no business being a tenured professor as she has never taught a class in her life. Tenure requires a step by step process over several years of successful teaching and research. To simply award tenure as a basis for hiring is a slap in the face to all university professors. Finally, the board of trustees had no business in interfering with the process. It does not make any difference if this person was white, black, man or woman. It has to do with the rules. Obviously you believe that rules do not apply if you are a black female.
Her peers awarded her tenure. Those were the rules. I believe they were appropriately applied to her. That’s how tenure works. BOT waffled.
How is me believing that UNC’s tenure process was justified in giving her tenure also me thinking rules don’t apply?
Juvenile gibberish.
Jones should go out west to join the former unc chancellor who was a turncoat let Silent Sam be torn down and then hid in her protected house until she could slide out of town. Shame on them both
And shame on you too mommy wommy you sound like another mindless liberal democrat Jones is nothing but a racist democrat karma will get you both
Oh happy days are here again jones won’t be at UNC after all there is a God and you have egg on your liberltard face mommy
Will is a racist.
Aw mother wither did you get your libertard feelings hurt we will get you a cookie
I agree with everyone about everything. Can we defund the state university system?
Great plan, let’s put 48,000 people out of work.
A paltry number when considering the hundreds of thousands who lost their jobs because of the “state of emergency” and the shuttering of businesses that ensued.
Private sector jobs that provide goods and services versus guaranteed employment on the taxpayer dime without regard to quality of results, if any.
48,000 people puffed-up with outrageous tuition fees and govt (taxpayer) assistance.
Yeah, those janitors and cafeteria workers are pretty dang evil. Good call Miller. Good call.