UW forum hacked with racist, pornographic material
UW forum hacked with racist, pornographic material
By Marissa Taylor
Laramie Boomerang
Via Wyoming News Exchange
Editor’s note: Please be advised that the following contains racist and profane words that have been edited and retained as these are germane to the article below.
LARAMIE – Racist disruptions during a virtual Black History Month event sponsored Monday by the University of Wyoming are currently under investigation by Laramie and university police.
“Despite what everyone told me, I was still shocked … it was an assault, no question,” said Jacquelyn Bridgeman, director of the School of Culture, Gender and Social Justice and faculty member of the Black Studies Center at UW.
The racist disruptions came during Monday’s event, “Cinematic Realism and Racist Propaganda, Part Two.”
The panel segment — livestreamed on the Black Studies Center Facebook page — consisted of four major disruptions, including illicit pornographic images and video clips, a sound clip of an unidentifiable woman screaming and an auditory disruption from an audience member who chanted, “N***** lives matter.” The names associated with each instance were unverifiable and potential pseudonyms.
In addition to these interruptions, the racist comment “N****s been through way too much … N***** lives matter!” and others with similar language were made in the public chat room.
The participant names under which these comments were made allegedly were hacked, and the identities of the culprit(s) cannot be verified at this time.
“This is not the first incident during Black History Month events this year,” said the director of Black Studies, Frederick Dixon, who moderated the virtual event. He said the first part of “Cinematic Realism,” which took place Feb. 1, had a less egregious and very brief auditory disruption that was quickly managed by Toby Thompson.
Thompson hosts each of the events and provides minor technical assistance during Zoom meetings.
Dixon said he wasn’t shocked by the attacks, stating, “I’m never surprised at what people do — I’m a cynic by trade, not by nature.”
The Black History Month events, he said, were designed to challenge people to the core; the subsequent dialogue and conversations are meant to extend the mainstream, dominant narrative surrounding Black lives and racism. Bridgeman said they encourage this open dialogue forum with the hope that people will engage in a productive and meaningful way.
At approximately 31:27 into the livestream video, guest speaker Attorney Damario Solomon-Simmons’ screen went black, and a vulgar, pornographic image appeared with “(F-bomb) N*****s, LOL” written across the top.
Dixon made a brief comment, and then invited Solomon-Simmons to continue. Other than a shake of the head, the attorney continued his speech.
Three minutes and 21 seconds later, a second disruption occurred, and an apparently disguised voice dominated the speakers while an 11-second video displayed illicit material.
Thompson removed the video from view, and Solomon-Simmon continued his dialogue on the Black legacy and how Blacks continue to experience the trauma of oppression.
“We’re not talking about something that happened a hundred years ago,” he said, addressing the incident directly. He said Blacks have fought oppression from the beginning and will continue to do so.
“We’re gonna keep fighting because we ain’t going anywhere … So you can come on here, put your pictures on here and call us anything you want. We’re going to continue the fight,” he said, referring to the Zoom bombers.
When asked what his initial reaction was after the first and second disruptions, Dixon said he was most concerned about the guest speakers who were invited to speak at the university. He said he felt bad for them, as well as the participants.
“[It was] the worst kind of disrespect,” said Dixon.
The rest of the events are planned to continue as normal, with major formatting changes to the Zoom platform. Thompson said all events will now be webinar-style, which only allows panelists and the host to share their screens and unmute their microphones. Thompson said the public chat room will remain accessible to participants, but added if anyone shares racist or violent speech, he will disable the chat platform for all audience members.
“We wanted to include the public … that’s why they had an open, unfiltered forum,” said Ulrich Adelt, director of African American and Diaspora Studies at the University of Wyoming.
The necessary precaution to limit audience members’ ability to directly engage in the conversation in many ways defeats the purpose of the events, Adelt, Dixon and Bridgeman agreed.
Adelt said in an email the virtual attacks on the Zoom event were saddening and infuriating but prove how important and timely the Black History Month events are.
“… [W]e will continue our mission of recapturing history, promoting awareness, furthering diversity and enriching communities,” he said.
He also spoke about the concept of white privilege and how it can sometimes shelter individuals from the realities of racism and hate speech. He suspected many of the audience members might not have experienced something like this before, and called the circumstance “eye-opening.”
“This is what we’re up against,” Adelt said.
Editors: The following was used by the Boomerang in a pullout:
Statement from Governor Gordon on Racist Disruption of Black History Month Virtual Event
I am saddened and angered that anyone would invade a constructive educational moment with such vile sentiments of hate, and adamantly condemn these atrocious actions. The degenerates who committed this act should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for their faceless cowardice and reprehensible behavior. Wyoming’s Constitution is clear and unambiguous. In assuring the rights of all “its citizens shall be without distinction of race, color, sex or any circumstance.” As I have stated previously, Wyoming is not, and never will be, a place where bigotry and hatred is tolerated, and I am committed to ensuring it is welcoming to all. I support the investigation that has been opened into these events and I hope that the perpetrators are held accountable.