A law professor at Georgetown University has been fired after she came under fire for making “racist remarks” in a Zoom call earlier this week.
Georgetown Law Dean Bill Treanor issued a statement on Thursday, saying he was “appalled” that two professors at his faculty were in a conversation “that included reprehensible statements concerning the evaluation of Black students.”
Treanor announced that he terminated Professor Sandra Sellers‘ relationship with the school effective immediately, after giving her and Professor David Batson a chance to provide any additional context to the incident.
“During our conversation, she told me that she had intended to resign. As a result of my decision, Professor Sellers is no longer affiliated with Georgetown Law,” Treanor stated, adding that he also placed Professor Batson on administrative leave pending an investigation by the Office of Diversity, Equity and Affirmative Action.
“We are taking significant steps to ensure that all students in this class are fairly graded without the input of Professor Sellers or Professor Batson,” said the Dean. “This is by no means the end of our work to address the many structural issues of racism reflected in this painful incident, including explicit and implicit bias, bystander responsibility, and the need for more comprehensive anti-bias training.”
.@GeorgetownLaw negotiations Professors Sandra Sellers and David Batson being openly racist on a recorded Zoom call.
Beyond unacceptable. pic.twitter.com/q5MoWjBok8
— Hassan Ahmad (@hahmad1996) March 10, 2021
In a video clip recorded during the online meeting and posted to Twitter, a woman, supposedly Professor Sellers, is heard saying:
“I hate to say this. I end up having this angst every semester that a lot of my lower ones are Blacks. Happens almost every semester. And it’s like, oh come on. It’s some really good ones, but there are also usually some that are just plain at the bottom, it drives me crazy.”
A man claimed to be Professor Batson nods in agreement after he listens to his colleague’s complaint in the video.
Following the surfacing of the video on Twitter, the Georgetown University Law Center Black Students Association released a statement and called for Professor Sellers’ termination.