Thousands mourn dead black academic in London vigil
Thousands of people gathered in central London late Monday to hold a vigil for black academic Jason Arday, blaming racism and relentless media pressure for his death last week.
The vigil in Trafalgar Square came as the head of Cambridge university Monday condemned a “racist feeding frenzy” prompted by plagiarism claims against Arday.
Arday, who became Cambridge’s youngest-ever black professor when he was appointed in 2023, was found dead Friday aged 41, after mounting accusations he had plagiarized parts of his doctoral thesis and exaggerated some of his personal life achievements.
Chris Smith, the University of Cambridge’s chancellor, told the BBC he believed it was important for such claims to be “rigorously investigated.”
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But amid a media storm surrounding the accusations, Smith added it was right to “refuse to join in a racist feeding frenzy over a particular academic.”
Arday, who was diagnosed with autism and other developmental difficulties as a child, had disputed the allegations against him.
But he said in a public resignation letter on Aug. 5 that he had “reached the limits of what any person should reasonably be expected to endure.”
The cause of his death has not been made public, with police saying only it was not suspicious and they were preparing a file for a coroner.
Arday’s family did not attend the vigil, but issued a statement that was read to the crowd, thanking supporters for their “love, support, and grief.”
“The public cruelty Jason was subjected to was too much for any man to bear,” they said, describing Arday as a “selfless and gentle soul.”
“His achievements were great, and we do not want misrepresentations about his character to overshadow them,” the family said.
His friend Jonathan Miller, deputy head of Froebel College, University of Roehampton, said he was grateful so many turned out to honour Arday.
5News aggregated this summary from the outlet’s public feed. The full article, with all the context, is on nationalpost.com — the content belongs to National Post.
