Who would have expected this?
As more is being revealed about SCOTUS nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, reports have surfaced that Jackson was a member of a Harvard student group that hosted a known antisemite. The guest accused Jews of slave trading and said Hiter “is not my problem.”
In February 1992, the Black Students Association at Harvard University hosted Leonard Jeffries, who at the time was a professor at the City University of New York. During his lecture, Jeffries accused Jews of slave trading.
When Jeffries was a guest, Jackson, who graduated from Harvard in 1992, was a member of the association.
However, according to a White House official, Jackson wasn’t in attendance at this event.
Jeffries antisemitism has long been documented, with the former Professor making several controversial statements about Jews, including one where he claimed: “rich Jews” were responsible for financing the slave trade.
Reporting on his lecture at Harvard, the Harvard Crimson wrote at the time that Jeffries’ lecture included allegations “that Jews were heavily involved in the slave trade” and a denial that Jews were enslaved when building the pyramids.
In his lecture, Jeffries also stated that “Adolf Hitler was a problem of Europeans,” adding that the dictator “is not my problem.”
Jackson’s involvement in hosting the controversial figure is unknown, but according to a February 1992 report from the Harvard Crimson, Jeffries’ lecture, hosted on Harvard’s campus, was met with significant backlash.
The Harvard Crimson also reported that Jeffries was met with “a sizable protest rally,” and the event had “tight security.”
The Anti Defamation League, an international Jewish non-governmental organization, which has documented Jeffries’ controversial statements in the past, has endorsed Jackson’s Supreme Court bid, stating that Jackson would “bring an important new perspective to the work of the Court.”
