Montgomery College: Film Screening Canceled Following President’s Condemnation

On April 16, 2024, organizers canceled a screening of the film The Occupation of the American Mind at Montgomery College after President Jermaine Williams publicly condemned the film in a campus-wide email for its depiction of anti-Semitic tropes. Williams called on the organizers, two student and faculty groups, to cancel the event because it assertedly was “causing fear, anxiety, and distress for many in our community.” FIRE wrote Montgomery College explaining that Williams’s comments suggested the college may restrict and punish disfavored speech about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, chilling speech on campus. FIRE urged Montgomery College to adopt a policy of institutional neutrality. Montgomery College failed to respond to our letter.