Prof Urges 'Abolition of White Democracy' During Lecture

A professor recently encouraged students to break the law in order to “destroy” the system of “white democracy,” saying the American flag doesn’t even represent about half of them.

Video footage obtained by The Red Elephants purports to show Diablo Valley College professor Albert Ponce lecturing on “white supremacy in the USA,” at one point suggesting that not all students should get up for the Pledge of Allegiance.

“And there were people here, the indigenous people, who were part—who paid a price, a very heavy price, for this project that is unfolding of white supremacy,” the professor said in one part of the lecture.

Ponce argued that Americans “exist in a white supremacist, patriarchal, heteronormative, capitalist system,” and that citizens should be violating laws that they believe perpetuate those conditions.

“That’s the beauty of the law—if you write it, you can convince all of us to follow it,” he said. “Just like all of us do today. When you shouldn’t. Many of the laws existing—we should be violating those laws.”

“We are taught to get up and to pledge allegiance to the flag every single day,” the professor continued. “The flag is not really representative of everybody who is standing up in that room. Maybe that’s the way it should be taught. All those who this flag represents stand up, and maybe 50 percent of this room, you remain seated down because this is not for you.”

In other portions of his lecture, Ponce also suggested that the Constitution “should be called a white man’s constitution,” and that Karl Marx was “one of the most profound thinkers in the history of Western philosophy.”

“So it is fitting that a white supremacist of old with a white supremacist of today exists and sit—they are smiling in the White House,” the professor said, pointing to a picture of President Trump alongside Attorney General Jeff Sessions in a slide titled “the abolition of white democracy.”

He then elaborated on the meaning of abolition in that context, declaring that normal democratic processes are insufficient for dealing with the “white supremacy” he attributes to Trump and Sessions.

“What does abolition mean? Abolition means we must destroy it, not reform it,” he continued. “No voting is going to help. No writing your congressperson. We need to smash white supremacy.”

According to The Red Elephants, the video was recorded by a student who described Ponce’s lecture as representative of the “Neo Marxist” attitudes that pervade campus, fueled by “Anti White and Anti American teachers” like Ponce.

The student also claimed that Ponce “grades students down and fails them if they don’t agree with him,” and even threatened to send a student to the dean’s office for nodding “no” during one lecture, but did not provide evidence to substantiate either assertion.

“It was a seminar he decided to hold and he requires students to go to 2 of his so-called lecture speech events outside of class,” the student explained. “This is where he indoctrinates them with lies.”

Ponce’s RateMyProfessor page has been deluged with negative evaluations since the video of his lecture was made public on December 22, but several previous entries do allude to him as an outspoken liberal—and even a “Marxist”—who frequently incorporates his political views into class discussions.

“Ponce wasted Class time Attacking Trump and Cis Genders Males,” one user alleged on November 25. “It's scary DVC would allow him to promote ANTIFA VIOLENCE DURING CLASS TIME. This man will send those who disagree out of class.”

Other users similarly alleged that he “puts down and bullies conservative students whenever he can” and “tries to brainwash you with pure liberal propaganda,” saying he “seems to teach from a extremely liberal point of view and belittles those who disagree.”

Even some students who rated Ponce highly acknowledged that his personal views often seep into the classroom.

“I will say his class is more preferable for the left winged perspective, so I do not recommend for conservatives,” one user wrote in May, while a previous comment noted that “the class has strong liberal undertones so if you're not open to hearing about liberal views, I wouldn't recommend.”

Neither Diablo Valley College nor Ponce responded to Campus Reform’s requests for comment.