(ChurchLeaders) When Jerry Falwell, Jr. tweeted a picture of a face mask with an image of Virginia Governor Ralph Northam dressing up in blackface, he was making a political statement about the state’s prescribed COVID-19 restrictions. However, African Americans in Falwell’s employ at Liberty University didn’t see it that way. While Falwell has apologized and removed the tweet from his account, the culturally insensitive move has been called the “cherry on top” of a problem of systemic racism at the Christian university. Three staff members have resigned their positions at the school in response to the incident, and one former staff member, LeeQuan McLaurin, has even started a GoFundMe campaign to help other black staffers leave the institution.
Calling his effort “LUnderground Railroad,” McLaurin seeks to “help staff and faculty at LU suffering from racial trauma and unable to leave due to financial restraints.”