After publishing a racist essay, a member of the prestigious Buffalo Bill Center of the West Board of Trustees has resigned after nearly a decade on the board.
85-year-old Henry “Rip” McIntosh had been a trustee at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West since September 2012. Before his resignation, he served on the Executive Committee, Capital Campaign Steering Committee, Strategic Planning Committee, and was the chair of the Marketing Committee.
McIntosh is also an advisor for Turning Point USA, an American nonprofit organization that advocates for conservative values on high school, college, and university campuses. Several prominent conservative politicians have been affiliated with the group, including recently deceased Wyoming philanthropist and conservative candidate Foster Friess.
An essay entitled “On the Question of Systemic Racism in the United States” was published in McIntosh’s personal digital newsletter. In it, several shockingly racist statements are made about African Americans.
The Casper Star Tribune reports that McIntosh submitted a letter of resignation to the Board of Trustees earlier this month. That resignation was accepted during a special committee meeting on Monday, July 19.
McIntosh denies writing the essay, saying it was published under a pseudonym by a teacher he knows. He later said the essay was “a bit extreme” but had no regrets about publishing it.
Nevertheless, McIntosh submitted his resignation several days after the distribution of the racist essay.
Turning Points and its co-founder Charlie Kirk have both said they are not responsible for publishing the newsletter or its content. The newsletter’s publisher, an online marketing company called Constant Contact, has since taken it out of circulation.
McIntosh claims the removal of his newsletter is “cancellation.” He vows to find a new distributor for the online newsletter, which he sometimes publishes up to five times a day.
The Buffalo Bill Center of the West Board of Trustees has more than 40 members, many of whom are politically connected. Vice President Dick Cheney, former Govs. Matt Mead and Mike Sullivan, and former Sen. Al Simpson are all current trustees.
Anyone interested in becoming a trustee at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West is asked to fill out applications, asking them questions about their interest and experience with topics like Western art, Western history, and firearms. Three-quarters of the board needs to approve the applicant before they are welcomed onto the board.
In its only statement on the newsletter and resignation, the Buffalo Bill Center of the West disavows the essay in McIntosh’s newsletter as incompatible with the museum’s mission.
“The views represented in Mr. McIntosh’s online and social media content do not represent or reflect the Buffalo Bill Center of the West’s core values or its mission,” said Levi Meyer, the public relations manager at the Center, in a statement to the Casper Star Tribune.
The Center will hold its next board meeting in September of this year.
