SU prof in middle of O'Reilly uproar

A Syracuse University professor has received death threats and hundreds of nasty e-mails after he entered a controversy over remarks made by talk show host Bill O'Reilly.

Boyce Watkins, a black SU business professor, last week on CNN called National Public Radio senior editor Juan Williams a "happy Negro" after Williams defended O'Reilly.

The racial debate began when O'Reilly, on his radio show, said black people were well behaved at a Harlem restaurant that he visited and that no one yelled, "m-fer, I want more iced tea." Many listeners called O'Reilly a racist.

Williams, a black journalist, defended O'Reilly on the O'Reilly Factor TV show, saying the talk show host's comments were not racist and that O'Reilly was "trying to deflate stereotypes."

Watkins spoke to CNN several times, saying Williams is, "the eternal happy Negro." Williams' defense of O'Reilly is "like a stripper telling Hugh Hefner he's not a sexist," he said.

O'Reilly, Williams and Watkins have been debating the issue since, appearing on national television several times this week to defend their perspectives. The controversy is also festering at SU, where Watkins says the university administration is distancing itself from him and his comments.

Watkins, who is in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, said he met Wednesday with his dean, Melvin Stith, who told Watkins that he appreciates his freedom of speech but wants the professor to make it clear that he is speaking as a public scholar and not as a university representative. The university released a statement Thursday echoing that sentiment:

"Syracuse University acknowledges the right of Dr. Watkins, outside of his employment with the University, to express his personal views on issues of interest to him. However, when faculty do so, they are not reflecting the opinion or mission of Syracuse University or any of its schools or colleges."

Stith echoed the statement Thursday night, saying "my position is that of course we all have a right to speak as citizens of this country, but he does not speak on behalf of Whitman or SU." He would not comment on the content of Watkins' comments.

Watkins said he doesn't feel the university likes that he stirs up controversy.

"I feel that (Chancellor Nancy) Cantor's camp doesn't like what I do," he said. "I'm the stepchild that's been swept under the rug . . . Syracuse is ashamed of me. The university has not embraced anything I've done."

Watkins said he stands by his statements to CNN. O'Reilly has "made an enemy of the black community," he said. Williams, he said, "validates the racist."

"(Williams) does not challenge white America to take responsibility for creating institutions that perpetuate racial inequality," Watkins said. "His job is to sit with borderline Klansmen and say the world is screwed up because black people are screwed up."

Williams, reached by telephone Thursday, said Watkins' "happy Negro" comments were cheap insults that lack substance. The men have never met or spoken, he said.

"It's just kind of low-ball, almost what you'd describe as schoolyard language in what was intended to be a serious discussion about race in America," Williams said. "This guy calling me a happy Negro suggests I'm some Uncle Tom and that I'm making excuses for racism. . .How outrageous is it to attack someone who promotes healthy race relations in this country."

Watkins and Williams both say they have been flooded with response. Both say members of the black community have been supportive.

Watkins, who said he has received more than 600 e-mails, said several Fox viewers have sent death threats.

"I'm getting hundreds and hundreds of e-mails telling me I'm a bad guy," Watkins said. "I'm not talking polite disagreement."