On November 11, 2017, the New York Times published "Can My Children Be Friends With White People" by Ekow Yankah. Professor Yankah writes:

"I will teach my boys the lesson generations old, one that I for the most part nearly escaped. I will teach them to be cautious, I will teach them suspicion, and I will teach them distrust. Much sooner than I thought I would, I will have to discuss with my boys whether they can truly be friends with white people."

This betrays a race-based hatred that is inexcusable and unacceptable to us. Professor Yankah has repeated his hateful statements and attitudes in interviews. He has shown a commitment to racism that should disqualify him from teaching.

We ask Yeshiva University and the Innocence Project to condemn racism. We ask Cardozo School of Law and Yeshiva University to remove Professor Yankah from the classroom. No student should have to take a course from someone who publicly preaches hatred against them based on their race. It is a violation of ethics and of law.

We ask the Innocence Project to remove Ekow Yankah from its Board of Directors. A charity devoted to justice cannot be led by someone who preaches prejudice.

We reaffirm that we believe, unlike Ekow Yankah, that Dr. Martin Luther King's dream can be made real. That we hope to live in a society where children are judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. We believe that teaching anyone race-based suspicion and distrust is wrong.