ANN ARBOR (WWJ) -- A professor at the University of Michigan is stepping down for a semester following outrage over a film he showed in class.
Native Chinese professor Bright Sheng will not be teaching his fall course in the school of Music, Theatre and Dance this fall after showing the 1965 film “Othello” last month.
In the movie, actor Laurence Olivier wears blackface while portraying the Moorish King.
Students took issue with the fact that no context or cultural warnings were given prior to the film, which was shown on September 10 to his undergraduate music composition seminar class.
Sheng later emailed students an apology, stating the footage was “racially insensitive and outdated.”
After several days, Sheng sent a lengthier apology detailing occasions throughout his career he felt he had promoted diversity, which prompted further backlash from students.
“At the world premiere of my opera The Silver River in South Carolina in 2000, I casted an African American actress (for the leading role), an Asian female dancer and a white baritone for the three main characters,” Sheng wrote.
He also added he “never thought (of himself as) being discriminating against any race.”
The university later announced Sheng would be stepping down, and the music composition class has since been suspended.
The incident continues to be under review by University of Michigan officials.
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