Public University UVA Spent Nearly $541 Per Minute For Ibram Kendi ‘Racial Equity’ Lecture

The University of Virginia (UVA) spent $32,500, or about $541 per minute, to host prominent critical race theorist Ibram X. Kendi for an hour to discuss “racial equity,” The Daily Wire has learned.

UVA contracted with Penguin Random House Speakers Bureau, according to an agreement obtained by The Daily Wire through the Freedom of Information Act. The virtual event took place on April 21 of last year, and according to the university, 876 people attended. It was a Q&A, free to attend, and open to the public. 

“The University of Virginia welcomes speakers from a broad array of perspectives to our Grounds every academic year and we often do pay speakers fees or other compensation,” UVA spokesperson Brian Coy told The Daily Wire. “Offering our community access to a diverse set of speakers and points of view is an important part of our academic mission.” 

Young America’s Foundation (YAF), a conservative youth group that brings speakers to college campuses through its own funding, told The Daily Wire it is “not familiar” with UVA “bringing conservative speakers” and paying them or promoting the events. The university notably refused to officially recognize YAF’s campus chapter in 2017, before changing course on the heels of a letter from the legal group Alliance Defending Freedom alleging violations of state law and the First Amendment.