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By: Erinn Gardner and Freddrell Green, Staff Writers

The long-anticipated arrival of Dr. Umar Johnson will come to an end when he speaks to Atlanta University Center (AUC) students at Morehouse College. Johnson, widely known for his controversial hot takes, is a certified psychologist and pan-africanist who holds radical views regarding being Black. While several people view his content as satire, many do not agree with his contentious beliefs.  

After an event held in Detroit, Michigan, sophomore Business Administration major Antonio Sweeney and Dr. Justin McClinton, graduating class of ‘13, invited Johnson to come and speak at Morehouse about the Higher Education in Prisons Program created by the Andrew Young Center for Global Leadership.

“If we call ourselves a higher education liberal arts college, we have to put that to the test. And I feel like a lot of differences of opinion will strengthen us and allow for us to hear from other people from different backgrounds,” Sweeney said.

Due to the polarizing nature of his platform, students and staff express mixed reactions about Johnson’s presence on campus. While he does push pro-Black beliefs, Johnson has produced videos that some consider derogatory toward certain groups. 

For example, he once made a claim stating that people are not born gay, but are only gay as a means of birth control, which is against the lifestyle of a traditional African family.

“I don’t really think Dr. Umar Johnson is the caliber of intellectual that I would like to see here at Morehouse and a lot of his views I find homophobic, oftentimes sexist, patriarchal, and sometimes simplistic,” Director of Student Counseling Services Dr. Steven Allwood said. 

The majority of Johnson’s audience finds his videos comical, and they believe that he tends to make valid points. However, his verbal delivery can change the entire trajectory of his statements, leaving a bad taste in his viewers’ mouths. 

“Dr. Umar has a lot of great pro-Black takes, but he also has so many ignorant takes. For example, he flat out-said ADHD does not exist, and that Black boys are only acting out because of their lifestyle at home. He’s a psychologist, so to deny mental illness in your own community is wild,” freshman Computer Science major Jessica Obi said. 

On the other hand, a multitude of students feel that Johnson’s talk at Morehouse will be beneficial to the institution. Being such a prominent figure on social media,  individuals who do not even attend an AUC institution want to come to experience the complexity of his conversations. 

For several years, Johnson has been requesting donations from the public to open a school (Fredrick Douglass Marcus Garvey Academy) for Black boys in Wilmington, Delaware. However, he has received numerous accusations claiming that he is accepting donations with no intention of actually opening up the school. 

This alleged scam adds to the controversy surrounding him. 

“I’m not an investigative journalist, but I know there’s been all kinds of questions about the money he raises and where it goes. I don’t know if that school ever did get built,” Allwood said. 

Johnson will be visiting Morehouse College on Mar. 18, at Five p.m. An open forum will occur after the event for students to ask questions directly to Johnson. Students and individuals within and outside the AUC are welcome.

Copy Edited by: Justin Darden, News Editor