For young Black Americans, there are staple places and institutions that should be a guaranteed safe space. One of those places has always been the campus of a historically Black college or university, with the Mecca being Howard University.

However, a white professor at Howard used a lecture on Frederick Douglass as an opportunity to humiliate one of the few Black students in the room. 

On March 9, the unnamed white professor was delivering a lecture on the hardships of slavery based on the writing of Frederick Douglass. When it came to describing the denigration inflicted upon slaves during the auctions, the professor decided to show rather than tell.

Pointing to one of two Black men in the room, the educator prompted him to stand up while the class looked on at his physical features. When pointing out the students healthy and physical build, the professor commented that he would have been "the type of slave buyers would look for."

Immediately, students in the room became infuriated with the professor and asked him to stop. However, he continued. 

The student was then meant to turn toward the class and watch them as they examined his teeth and weight. Upon noticing the look of shock on the students' faces, the professor tried to reassure him that he was also uneasy. 

“It’s OK, I’m uncomfortable too; I’m white,” one student recalled the professor telling the class, according to Caged Bird Magazine.  

Eventually, the professor asked the student to turn around so the class could examine his buttocks, which immediately resulted in widespread anger. 

“I wanted to hit him,” said the student. “I was being racially and sexually harassed in front of my peers and the only thing I could think to defend myself was by punching him.” 

The incident in the classroom became such a heated topic that it forced Howard University to open an official investigation into the matter. Students are now calling for the resignation or termination of the professor.