Campbell Kitts Blog

  Dear Jason, I am writing this with a heavy heart to update you on the fallout since your tragic passing on August 14. What happened to you was fundamentally not right—no one should be subjected to the kind of relentless, racially motivated public shaming and harassment campaign that you endured. The situation with Nathan Cofnas and his sympathizers continues to be a disturbing spectacle. After leading the charge on the plagiarism accusations that pressured your resignation from Cambridge , Cofnas faced his own consequences—he was fired from his junior research fellowship at Cambridge and subsequently faced a teaching ban at Ghent University . Unsurprisingly, his sympathizers and anti-DEI campaigners are rallying behind him; the US ambassador to Belgium even publicly criticized his teaching ban. Cofnas continues to play the victim, claiming people are trying to have him thrown in jail simply for expressing his "race realist" ideas. It makes me wonder—what exactly did yo...

Learned Helplessness : Breaking the Chains in Black Communities and Africa. Learned Helplessness  is a psychological concept that describes a state where individuals, after enduring repeated adverse experiences over which they have no control, come to believe that they are powerless to change their circumstances.  This belief persists even when opportunities for change arise, leading to passivity, resignation, and a lack of initiative. The term was coined by psychologists Martin Seligman and Steven Maier in the 1960s through experiments on animals, where subjects exposed to inescapable shocks failed to escape later when escape was possible. In humans, this manifests as depression, low motivation, and a pessimistic outlook on life.In the context of marginalized groups , learned helplessness often stems from systemic oppression, historical trauma, and cultural narratives that reinforce feelings of inevitability.  For black people as a collective—encompassing African Ameri...

Have you been thinking about motherhood?  If you have, you may be wondering whether or not you are ready to be a parent. While parenthood is occasionally unexpected, a large number of women and their partners plan and prepare for it.  If that is the approach that you would like to take, there are a number of important factors or issues that you should first take into consideration. Perhaps, the most important factor to take into consideration is healthcare. When pregnant, you will need to schedule regular prenatal exams. Towards the end of your pregnancy, these exams may be as common as once or twice a week. For that reason, healthcare should be taken into consideration.  Do you have health insurance?  If you do, does your health insurance cover pregnancy and prenatal care?  If it does not or if you are uninsured, you may end up paying for the cost of your pregnancy alone. In keeping the cost of having a child, it is also important to examine the costs after you...