Christian Eede

Nathan Cofnas is the man behind the Jason Arday story. Here’s who he actually is. In February 2024, Cofnas wrote a blog post claiming that under a “meritocracy,” Black people would “disappear from almost all high-profile positions outside of sports and entertainment.” He called racial equality “based on lies.” Cambridge’s Emmanuel College cut ties with him over it. The Leverhulme Trust, which funded his research, disavowed him and opened its own investigation. He sued Emmanuel College for discrimination. He lost. Cambridge’s own disciplinary body dismissed all 58 complaints against him, ruling it fell under free speech protections. He then moved to Ghent University in Belgium. Over 300 staff and students there protested his hiring, questioning whether his views were compatible with the university’s ethics code. This is the man who spent months going through a Black professor’s PhD thesis and personal history, then published it on Substack. That’s what triggered Cambridge’s investigation into Jason Arday. This context is missing from nearly all the coverage. A self-described “race realist,” who argued Black professors would basically disappear under merit alone, is the one who decided which Black professor deserved scrutiny. Black professors: under 1% of the UK total. Black academics reaching professor level: 3.8%. This isn’t the first case. It won’t be the last. Go under the original post and see how overt racism works.