Professor says criticism led to closure of program she heads

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) - A North Carolina university professor says criticism of her school led officials to end a program she heads.

The Winston-Salem Journal reports Melissa Harris-Perry criticized policies instituted by Wake Forest University during a speech on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. She said the school benefited from slavery and from North Carolina’s racist policies over the decades.

Harris-Perry also said Wake Forest fires its food service workers every summer, then rehires them in the fall, leaving them to struggle. The school disputed the allegation.

On Thursday, Harris-Perry posted on Twitter that the school’s provost sent her an email asking her to “eliminate” a center of which she is director as a university entity.

The school said Harris-Perry’s statement didn’t tell the whole story, and added she’s still employed by the school.