Professor Watchlist

Dr. Greg Garrett is a Professor of English at Baylor University. According to his faculty profile, his interests are “Religion,” “Race,” “Culture,” and “Story.”

In April 2024, Garrett went viral after shaming the author of the “Harry Potter” series, JK Rowling, who often speaks out against the “transgender movement” and the erosion of women’s rights.

Today in my Harry Potter class @Baylor, we had a hard and necessary conversation about JK Rowling and her hatred of trans- people. We decided novelist Rowling, who wrote with compassion about diversity, equity, and inclusion, is worth our attention. Twitter Rowling? Shame on her.

— Greg Garrett (@Greg1Garrett) April 2, 2024

One commenter said, “Shame on JK Rowling for protecting women’s sex based spaces and keeping them female only? Then shame on a whole lot of us … but thank you so much for caring.” To which, Garrett responded, “I am so sorry to hear of your diagnosis, and am sending prayers and all good wishes. May God be with you.”

A back-and-forth ensued, in which the commenter accused Garrett of ridiculing her cancer diagnosis:

Garrett participated in a live broadcast to talk about racism in the Christian Church.

This is a great livecast. Do please take a look. “The Deep Roots of Racism in the Christian Church” https://t.co/n4nDcExSm2 via @YouTube @BaylorProud @robertpjones @PRRIpoll @wilshirebc @OrbisBooks @iamepiscopalian @amcathparis @baptist_news

— Greg Garrett (@Greg1Garrett) April 15, 2024

Garrett also published Black Lives Matter posts with the tags #racisminthechurch and #racialjustice.

Garrett thanked race pundit Jemar Tisby while wearing a T-shirt that says, “Justice Takes Sides.” According to the website, Tisby “encourages people who are on the sidelines to get involved in the struggle for justice.”

Taking my new “Justice Takes Sides” shirt out into the world. Thanks to @JemarTisby and all of those seeking justice. I want to be in that number. @BaylorProud @OrbisBooks @iamepiscopalian @amcathparis #race #justice #hope #faith #jamesbaldwin #canontheologian pic.twitter.com/Mp6ke5qsdW

— Greg Garrett (@Greg1Garrett) October 6, 2023

In 2020, Garrett published “A Long, Long Way: Hollywood’s Unfinished Journey from Racism to Reconciliation,” a novel addressing racial disparities in the entertainment industry. In the introduction, he declared:

“Over the past century, racists have used the medium of film to perpetuate harmful stereotypes and offer warped narratives, or they have portrayed white reality as though it were the only reality that mattered … The task of this book is to interrogate [the] six phases of Hollywood treatment of race, moving from our undoubtedly racist past to our still-troubled but perhaps slightly more hopeful present.”

Regarding the second and third of Garrett’s “six phases,” he said, “[W]hite filmmakers of conscience recognized the propensity for racism and sought to make incremental changes in the stories they told. Other white storytellers launched a third phase, attempting to portray the lives of people of color in a more significant and representative way.”

Garrett doesn’t dedicate any significant thoughts to the fact that African Americans have had an influence on filmmaking for more than a century.

In 2023, Garrett was featured in an article titled “Authors find common ground in truth on facing racism, to speak at Baylor.” The publication highlighted Garrett’s book, “The Gospel According to James Baldwin: What America’s Great Prophet Can Teach Us about Life, Love, and Identity.” Regarding Garrett’s authorship, the source said:

“Garrett spent six years on the book, traveling to Baldwin’s home in France, Switzerland and Harlem, New York, and reading deeply in his work. He distills Baldwin’s views into chapters on culture, faith, race, justice, and identity, concluding that the American writer points a way through America’s troubled past and present with racism.”

The article’s author and Garrett both failed to seriously consider that much of Baldwin’s struggles occurred before Civil Rights legislation was passed to grant black people equal rights and protections under the law.

Please send tips, updates and information on Dr. Greg Garrett to Watchlists@tpusa.com. 

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Published – June 21, 2024