Dr. Umar Johnson is urging members of the Black community to avoid celebrating the recent death of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.
Kirk was fatally shot on Wednesday evening while speaking at Utah Valley University, prompting an ongoing manhunt for the suspected gunman. The shooting occurred roughly 20 minutes into Kirk’s address, with authorities confirming a rifle believed to have been used in the attack was recovered at the scene.
While Kirk’s career was often marked by controversial statements that many considered racially charged, Dr. Umar took to Instagram to caution his supporters against praising his death.
“While I did not agree with Mr. Kirk’s rhetoric, and considered him to be an anti-Black bigot, I will never rejoice at the loss of life of anyone who hasn’t directly participated in the unaliving of a member of the Black Afrikan race,” Umar wrote, according to The Shade Room. “I am ashamed to see members of my community celebrating this situation. I will never ask you to mourn the loss of an enemy of our race, but to celebrate an unaliving is completely unacceptable.”
Social media had been circulating clips of Kirk’s most polarizing opinions in the hours after his killing. Still, Dr. Umar’s message served as a reminder that celebrating violence, even against one’s critics or ideological opponents, is not a path forward.