An associate dean at the University of Wisconsin–Madison has publicly criticized President Donald Trump and co-authored an academic paper arguing that the American education system — including mathematics — can be “inherently violent” toward Black students.
Percival Matthews, associate dean for the Office of the Dean and professor in the Human Development Area at UW–Madison, shared his views through Facebook posts and academic writings reviewed by Fox News Digital.
In a January 2018 Facebook post, Matthews appeared to describe Trump as a racist, writing: “When you get a guy in the ultimate seat of power with a history of racist endeavors who makes not-even-veiled racist comments that a decent portion of the people continue to defend, you’re left wondering what’s left to do.”
He referenced Malcolm X in the same post, stating that while some see Malcolm X as “an unnecessarily violent man who hated America,” reading his speeches — such as The Ballot or the Bullet — reveals that his anger came from “a bald-faced denial of an undeniable and obvious truth.”
Appointed as “special advisor for access and community” in April, Matthews’ role focuses on advancing UW–Madison’s institutional commitment to fostering inclusivity among students and employees. In his academic work, he has explored the concept of “violence” within education systems.
In a paper co-authored with Pooja Sidney, an associate professor at the University of Kentucky, Matthews argued that systemic inequities often prevent Black students from enrolling in advanced academic courses, particularly in mathematics.
“This exclusionary narrative continues into the higher grades, with Black children routinely being shut out of advanced mathematics courses despite meeting achievement standards,” the paper states. “In stark contrast, more privileged White children are sometimes tracked into advanced courses despite failing to meet those standards.”
The paper questions, “How can a Black scholar work to improve a system through rigorous empirical research when that system is arguably inherently violent toward Black children, even the ones who excel at all the tests?”
Matthews also posted in 2020 about the concept of violence following George Floyd’s death, writing: “A legitimate (adv) use of violence can legitimate (vb) use of violence. There are a number of ways to read that sentence.” In another post from the same year, he asked rhetorically, “And people are surprised that Minneapolis is burning?”
In response to inquiries from Fox News Digital, John Lucas, assistant vice chancellor for public affairs and institutional communications at UW–Madison, said the university “supports free expression and doesn’t comment on the personal social media accounts of its students, faculty or staff.”
The University of Kentucky’s Office of Public Relations and Strategic Communications also told Fox News Digital, “The university wouldn’t have any comment on a faculty member’s scholarly work, which is protected by academic freedom and does not represent any university stance.”
