GWU plans to replace Jessica Krug, the professor who admitted to falsely claiming Black identity
George Washington University’s history department plans to replace Jessica A. Krug, the associate professor who said she lied about being a Black woman, the department chair has confirmed.
“We certainly want the classes to continue, and we’re going to see if it’s possible,” said Daniel Schwartz. “We’re looking to see if we can find a replacement.”
Krug was teaching courses on African and Latin American history in the fall semester, Schwartz said, and the department is looking to bring in a professor with experience teaching those subjects. A replacement has not been chosen, but Schwartz mentioned the possibility of recruiting someone from the GWU community.
There are people who are not full-time faculty at GW, but have taught part-time before,” he said. Schwartz said Krug is still working for the department. A spokeswoman for the university did not confirm Krug’s employment.
Krug did not respond to a request for comment.
The university, in a tweet, confirmed Krug wrote the Medium blog post in which she confessed to lying about her identity.
The White professor said she had been “audaciously deceptive” about her identity. Krug, who grew up in suburban Kansas City, Kan., has claimed multiple identities throughout her life, including North African, Black American and Black Caribbean. In an essay published on Essence.com about the Puerto Rican uprising against its governor in 2019, she called herself a “boricua.”
There is no ignorance, no innocence, nothing to claim, nothing to defend,” Krug wrote in the blog post. “I have moved wrong in every way for years.”
Krug built her scholarship on African and Latin American history. She has written about subjects including hip-hop, colonialism in Africa and Latin America, the trade of enslaved people and African American history.
The professor wrote she should be canceled and believes in “cancel culture as a necessary and righteous tool for those with less structural power to wield against those with more power.”
Academics of color reacted to Krug’s announcement on social media. Krug, through her scholarship and falsely claimed identity as a Black woman, became part of a network of Black and Hispanic scholars.
“Nothing says white privilege like trying to orchestrate your own cancellation,” tweeted Sofia Quintero, a writer and activist from the Bronx.
Krug said she had eschewed her experiences growing up in suburban Kansas City. She wrote in the blog post that she had been alienated from her family.
Quinton Lucas, the mayor of Kansas City, Mo., retweeted a yearbook photo from 1999 that showed Krug and himself as part of a student political organization called StuPac. Lucas and Krug were classmates at the Barstow School in Kansas City, Mo., according to the tweet.
“One of the stranger person-in-your-yearbook-photo-did-this stories I’ve stumbled upon. Yes, Jessica graduated a few years ahead of me,” Quinton tweeted. “She was interesting back then, but it is really surprising she’s tried to pass as Black for 20 years. Her apology in reflection is warranted.”
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