‘Race-realist’ fellow Nathan Cofnas is suing Emmanuel College after being fired for claiming that a meritocracy would see the number of black professors at Harvard drop to almost zero.

Cofnas, who was hired by the Philosophy Faculty in 2022, has launched a legal challenge over the college’s decision to cut ties with him after his views were deemed to be “a rejection of diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI)” that was incompatible with the College’s “core values and mission”.

He originally sparked controversy in February after claiming in a blog post that race was linked to academic ability, and that under a true meritocracy black people would “disappear from almost all high-profile positions outside of sports and entertainment”.

He also called for an end to “the war on nature,” claiming that people needed to “accept that talent is not distributed equally within or across groups”.

Cofnas has characterised his views as “race realism,” and advocates for the preservation of “racial distinctions” in society. He also stated that society should “blaze forward” in a “hereditarian revolution” against the “DEI devil”.

The Free Speech Union, which is sponsoring the case, published a statement by Cofnas in which he claimed that“Emmanuel’s own rules make it clear that they did not have the authority to dismiss me,” and that he intended to create a precedent protecting “the right of academics to express politically incorrect views about race”.

He also claimed that student campaigns for his removal had made it dangerous for him to walk around in public, after they plastered flyers with his face around campus and held a protest outside the Philosophy Department calling for his removal.

Alongside the statement is a legal fund page, with the Free Speech Union’s funding only able to cover the costs of a pre-action protocol letter. The fund has received 63 donations amounting to £12,872 since being launched on Wednesday.

Doug Chalmers, master of Emmanuel College, originally responded to the blog posts in February by saying that the college retains its commitment to freedom of thought and expression and acknowledged Cofnas’ “academic right, as enshrined by law, to write about his views.” However, the college later decided to cut ties with him in April of this year.

Lord Simon Woolley, Principal of Homerton College, previously accused Cofnas of “abhorrent racism masquerading as pseudo intellect” in a Town Hall meeting with Chalmers. The University’s investigations into Cofnas are still ongoing.

Following the college’s decision Cofnas gained the support of 14 academics, five from Cambridge, who wrote a letter to The Times calling on the college to reinstate him and claiming there was nothing to investigate in relation to his controversial views.

One of the academics who signed the letter was the Australian philosopher Peter Singer, who previously claimed that Emmanuel’s definition of freedom of expression “does not include the freedom to challenge its DEI policies”.

Brynn Harris, the Free Speech Union’s chief legal counsel, said the organisation was “very pleased to help Dr Cofnas to defend his right to academic freedom”. 

Emmanuel College was contacted for comment.