Ambrose wanted me to speak on what they believe black people are supposed to say about racism. They didn’t want me to speak on what the Bible says about racism. They wanted me to preach critical race theory—they didn’t want me to preach Christ. That’s why they’re offended. I don’t deny that my talk is offensive. Biblical truth is offensive to people who disagree with the Bible. But that shouldn’t include a supposedly Christian university like Ambrose. And according to messages I’ve received since their statement, many of Ambrose’s students and their parents agree.
When institutions that embrace critical race theory say they are allies with black people, what they really mean is—they are allies with black people they want to use to benefit their own agenda.
This past Monday, Ambrose University—a supposedly Christian university in Calgary—made it known I wasn’t useful for their agenda. They released a public statement suggesting they aren’t allies with black people like me.
The statement was written by their (white) vice-president of student life, their (white) student council president, and their (white) director of social justice as an apology to their students for a talk I did on racism at their school this past February.
The statement was available on their website for three days until social media pushback and national news coverage compelled them to remove it. Ambrose, however, have not pursued my forgiveness and reconciliation. Nevertheless, I have a copy of the original statement. You can read it here.
Their statement of apology said, “in February 2021, a guest speaker at The Well event denied the existence of systemic racism and caused severe harm to those who were in attendance.”
They said I “denigrated” the students and suggested I oppose “Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour.” They also insinuated I didn’t “take racism seriously.”
The entire basis for the statement is cowardly. However, the most cowardly thing about the statement isn’t what they said—it’s actually what they didn’t say.
Ambrose didn’t mention my name. That’s probably because they didn’t want to make it known they were hating a black man while they were virtue signalling about their love for black people. They probably didn’t mention my name because they didn’t want to make it known they were suggesting I was a self-hating black man for choosing to disagree with their agenda.
They didn’t want to make it known that when they say they are allies with black people—they’re lying.
If they were allies with black people, they wouldn’t label me their enemy—they wouldn’t oppose and attack a black man for speaking against real racism. They’re not allies with me and they’re not allies with black people. They’re just allies with lies.
But Ambrose’s statement isn’t merely cowardly, it’s also contradictory to their mission and values. On their website, Ambrose says:
“we encourage our students, faculty, and staff to be intellectually curious. We promote conversations about difficult issues that are marked by both courage and charity.”
