Fitzwilliam College, University of Cambridge, announced that it “accepted the resignation of historian David Starkey from his honorary scholarship with immediate effect.”
The university said: “Our student and academic bodies are diverse and welcoming to everyone. We do not tolerate racism.”
His comments on slavery were criticized Thursday for being racist.
The television historian has yet to respond to the BBC’s request for comment.
Starkey said in an online show hosted by conservative commentator Darren Grimes that slavery was not genocide, due to the survival of “so many cursed blacks.”
Fitzwilliam’s teacher contacted Starkey after his comments, and the university added: “Fitzwilliam is proud to lead the way in Cambridge by opening access to higher education for underrepresented groups.”
The statement went on to point out that while the author “has no teaching role” there, “honorary fellows have the same responsibility as all members of our university to uphold our values.”
The University of Canterbury Christ Church, meanwhile, has also announced that “David Starkey’s position as visiting professor has ended with immediate effect.”
The university called the comments “completely unacceptable.”
Professor Rama Thirunamachandran, vice chancellor of the university, apologized to the staff and students who have been offended and upset by the “egregious” comments.
He said: “The comments widely reported by historian David Starkey during a recent online interview are, in our opinion, completely unacceptable and do not reflect the values of our university and community.”
The University of Lancaster has also initiated a review of Starkey’s honorary graduate status.
“His comments are abominable and contrary to our values,” the institution tweeted.
Writing on Twitter, former Foreign Minister Sajid Javid said: “David Starkey’s racist comments are a reminder of the appalling views that still exist.”
The Mary Rose Trust said it was “appalled” by Starkey’s comments, adding that they had accepted his resignation Thursday night.
Starkey made the offensive remarks in an episode of Darren Grimes’ Reasoned program on YouTube, titled “Dr. David Starkey: Black Lives Matter Aims to Delegitimate British History.”
The host of the show tweeted Thursday: “I reject in the strongest possible terms what Dr. Starkey said in that clip and wish I wished I had understood it at the time. I’m still learning the ropes, I’ll be much more alert to the challenges this guy of things in the future. “
In it, Starkey said: “Slavery was not genocide, otherwise there would not be so many blacks in Africa or Great Britain, right? Many survived.”
He also claimed that the Black Lives Matter protests, after the death of George Floyd, had been characterized by “violence” and “victimization”.
He described canceling culture and demolishing statues as “deranged.”
Image copyright
Reuters
Black Lives Matter protesters in Hyde Park in June
The academic went on to discuss the links between slavery and the British Empire.
Starkey said, “As for the idea that slavery is this kind of terrible disease that you don’t dare speak your name, you only dare not speak your name, Darren, because we solved it almost 200 years ago.”
“Normally we don’t continue with the fact that Roman Catholics never had the vote and weren’t allowed to have their own churches because we had Catholic emancipation.”
Starkey’s comments were widely criticized by several social media users.
Nicholas Guyatt, professor at Cambridge University, tweeted: “I cannot speak for my employer, but as someone who teaches history at Cambridge, I am ashamed of our connections with David Starkey and urge the university and Fitzwilliam College to cut all ties with the “.
It is not the first time that Starkey has been involved in a public career.
- Complaints about Starkey’s career comments
In 2011, the BBC received nearly 700 complaints about Starkey’s claim that “whites have turned black,” during a Newsnight discussion of riots in the UK.
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