Has “professional and respectful” become the 2025 version of “mostly peaceful” riots?
If you’ll recall, in the summer of 2020, swathes of America was razed to the ground as people rioted over the death of George Floyd.
The media coverage of this incident was curious, to say the least, but few outlets took as much grief as CNN did for characterizing those violent riots as “mostly peaceful.”
Now, a conservative group that attempted to visit Tennessee State University — a historically black college — is claiming that they were accosted and harassed for trying to start a campus dialogue.
In turn, the school has claimed that its students were “professional and respectful” the entire time.
It’s a classic case of he-said-she-said, but thankfully, video evidence — as it did with the fiery George Floyd riots — has been critical in getting to the bottom of the matter.
The Fearless Tour, a group that aims to “keep free speech alive in America” and which appears to be borrowing heavily from the format popularized by recently slain Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk’s campus tours, visited Tennessee State University recently, and things quickly got out of hand.
Cam Higby, part of The Fearless Tour, posted video on X to show the world what happened when he attempted a civil dialogue.
WARNING: The following videos include language and hand gestures that some viewers may find offensive.
Should the students involved in this mayhem be punished?
This is the EXTREMELY civil discussion that the riot at Tennessee State (HBCU) started with.
In this video you watch the mob grow, begin shouting, destroying our stuff, possessing weapons, blocking our way out, and screaming racist epithets.
All because of this civil convo. pic.twitter.com/lbwEpPV52t
— Cam Higby 🇺🇸 (@camhigby) September 24, 2025
Higby and the tour itself would further share more of the chaos and vitriol being hurled at his group for simply wanting to discuss diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Today @FearlessDebates tour tabled at an HBCU, Tennessee State University and after 10 minutes a literal riot erupted.
They stole our stuff, followed us to our car, attacked the car, shouted “BLACK POWER” and blocked our exit of the campus.
Our topic was DEI. pic.twitter.com/1ZzwrSJpG7
— Cam Higby 🇺🇸 (@camhigby) September 23, 2025
It started with one civil conversation at an HBCU.
It ended in violence. pic.twitter.com/5mdnew2U5K
— The Fearless Tour (@FearlessDebates) September 23, 2025
In response to the conservative group being heckled and silenced at their institute of higher learning, Tennessee State opted to defend its student body instead.
— Tennessee State University (@TSUedu) September 23, 2025
The school claimed that this conservative group did not go through the proper protocols to host an event like this on campus. Had the school simply stopped there, this may have been a smaller issue.
But critics took immediate issue with the way Tennessee State characterized its students’ behavior.
“Campus police and staff responded promptly, and the individuals were escorted from university grounds without incident,” the school posted. “At all times, TSU students conducted themselves in a professional and respectful manner.”
That coddling response did not sit well with online voices — including black pundits:
Tennessee State University is a JOKE. These young men came to debate respectfully and these students acted like a bunch of rabid animals. They could have just debated like mature adults, but instead choose to be trashy and classless.
Then the University had the audacity to… pic.twitter.com/lYjsp3hjmV
— Jeffery Mead (@the_jefferymead) September 25, 2025
“Tennessee State University is a JOKE,” conservative commentator Jeffery Mead posted.
“Cultural commentator” Amiri King also took to X to lambaste the school — and its success rate.
“Tennessee State University is a HBCU with a four-year graduation rate of 22%,” King posted.
“Six years after graduation, the median salary for graduates is $34,160. Neanderthals,” he added.
“So yeah. It’s not surprising they stole your s*** and vandalized your car.”
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