I would say I support Tariq to a degree. He is who he says is. He doesn't claim to be anymore than that. He's not a public scholar. He does what he says he will do.
Umar Johnson has not earned my support. Why? He's arrogant, thin-skinned, vindictive, bullish, childish and shady. He NEVER shows everything he should show, as evidence goes. Even in this case of him vs the state of Pennsylvania, he makes a claim but to date has never shown us the page of the document he (allegedly) received that would detail the exact reason there is a hearing. We are supposed to take him at his word, just like we're supposed to take him at his word that he was not pocketing the donations for that pipe dream school just like we're supposed to just take him at his word about his connection to Frederick Douglass. These are things that would be so simple. This is so extremely unscholarly. For a scholar, it is a prerequisite to make statements with source material and receipts in hand. For a doctor in psychology not to do this is a terrible look. To this day, he does not have the college where he earned his doctorate in his bio on his website or easily accesible anywhere else online. Remember how he would get publicly enraged if someone asked him about it? How many legit public scholars do you see do that? I'm not saying that he has not earned a doctorate. I am saying that transparency is vital to trustworthiness.
For comparison sake:
Boyce Watkins
http://boycewatkins.com/dr-boyce-watkins/
"...Educationally, Dr. Watkins earned BA and BS degrees with a triple major in Finance, Economics and Business Management. In college, he was selected by the Wall Street Journal as the Outstanding Graduating Senior in Finance. He then earned a Masters Degree in Mathematical Statistics from University of Kentucky and a PhD in Finance from Ohio State University and was the only African-American in the world to earn a PHD in Finance during the year 2002."
Cornel West
http://www.cornelwest.com/bio.html#.Wko5HyPMzOQ
"...West graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard in three years and obtained his M.A. and Ph.D. in Philosophy at Princeton."
Michael Eric Dyson
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Eric_Dyson
"...he entered Knoxville College as a freshman at the age of 21.[7] Dyson received his bachelor's degree, magna cum laude, from Carson–Newman College in 1985.[4] He obtained his master's and Ph.D in religion, from Princeton University."
Van Jones
http://www.vanjones.net/about
"...Jones is a Yale-educated attorney."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Jones
"...Jones was educated at Jackson Central-Merry High School, a public high school in his hometown; he graduated in 1986. Jones received his B.S. in communication and political science from the University of Tennessee at Martin (UT Martin)...Jones moved to Connecticut to attend Yale Law School...graduating from law school with his J.D. degree in 1993..."
Melissa Harris Perry
http://melissaharrisperry.com
"...Harris-Perry received her B.A. degree in English from Wake Forest University and her Ph.D. degree in political science from Duke University. She also studied theology at Union Theological Seminary in New York."
Dr. Phil Valentine
http://kemetaphysics.org/kmt/about-us/
"...he received his doctorate in Hygienic Health Science and Classical Naturopathy from The Life Science Institute of Texas, now merged to the Fit for Life Sciences Institute—College of Natural Health in Canada..."
Anthony Browder
https://ikgculturalresourcecenter.com/aboutanthony-browder/
"...He is a graduate of Howard University’s College of Fine Arts..."
With these and many more recognized Black public scholars, one doesn't have to look far for their educational credentials. Because of that, no would would HAVE to ASK for them.
We have seen this man publicly attack numerous people through rants on video, at speaking events and through memes in social media.
Now the GoFundMe page for Umar's school is gone. I'm hoping people follow this detail. This is the one place receipts (actual ones) are vital. If he lets this go by the wayside, never addresses it - with receipts, and continues not to produce anything, he is nothing but a sharp-tongued con man and a thief who is attuned to the lack of education, lack of critical analytic skill and the gullibility of his core audience. Considering his quantifiable public track record, I would not loan that brotha $5, let alone donate one red cent to his alleged "school." His reckless, touchy, shady ass doesn't need to be in charge of the future and long term care of anyone's kids.
