OXFORD, Miss. (AP) - The Latest on a Facebook post by the namesake of the University of Mississippi journalism school (all times local):
3:35 p.m.
A University of Mississippi student is criticizing a prominent white Ole Miss donor for posting photos of her and another black woman to Facebook and suggesting the women could cause real estate values to fall.
Mahoghany Jordan is studying computer science at Ole Miss. In an article Thursday on the website of the student newspaper, The Daily Mississippian , Jordan says the Facebook post Wednesday by Ed Meek “reeks of racist ideology as well as misogyny.” She also rejected an apology from Meek.
Meek led Ole Miss public relations for 37 years and donated $5.3 million to the university in 2009. Its journalism school is named for him.
Ole Miss Chancellor Jeffrey Vitter said Meek’s post had an “unjustified racial overtone.” Meek removed it and apologized “to those offended.”
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6:02 a.m.
A University of Mississippi official says the man after whom its journalism school was named has shared a post on social media with an “unjustified racial overtone.”
News outlets quote Chancellor Jeffrey Vitter as urging Edwin Meek to apologize for a Facebook post that pictures two black women and asks community leaders to protect Ole Miss’ values. Meek’s post has since been taken down.
Meek said he believed it was important the community see “what the camera is seeing at 2 a.m. after a ballgame” saying real estate values and tax revenues will fall. The school’s Black Student Union says the juxtaposition implies real estate values are dropping because of the increased presence of black women.
An online petition is asking for the graduate’s name to be removed.
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