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Texas A&M Sets Unity Event During White Nationalist's Speech

November 30, 2016 / 3:34 PM CST / CBS Texas

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HOUSTON (AP) — Texas A&M University says it will hold an event to highlight diversity and unity at the same time a white nationalist is set to speak at the College Station campus in December.

The "Aggies United" event was scheduled after Richard Spencer, who leads a movement that mixes racism, white nationalism and populism, was invited to speak on Dec. 6 by a former student, who can reserve campus space available to the public.

WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 19: Richard Spencer is in town for the largest white nationalist and Alt Right conference of the year in Washington, DC on November 18, 2016. Spencer, a 38-year-old Dallas native and graduate of St. Mark's School of Texas prep school, is a key intellectual leader of the alternative right, a label he coined in 2008 to describe the radical conservative movement defined by white nationalism and a fervent resistance to multiculturalism and globalism. Spencer currently resides in the resort town of Whitefish, Montana, in what was described as a "Bavarian-style mansion" in a profile in Mother Jones. He was born in Massachusetts but moved to the Preston Hollow neighborhood of Dallas when he was about 2 years old. "It was a fairly idyllic, suburban childhood," Spencer said with a laugh. "I remember riding bikes around the neighborhood, and so on. I guess you could say I lived in a bubble to a certain extent, like a lot of the kids in that area. But it was very nice." (Photo by Linda Davidson/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

A&M spokeswoman Amy Smith said Wednesday the event at the university's football stadium will be a chance for the school and the community to "be unified with our disgust really for this person."

In a statement, A&M President Michael Young says Spencer won't be prevented from speaking as the school values freedom of speech.

The Anti-Defamation League said in a statement it's confident Spencer's message of bigotry will be rejected by the community.

Texas A&M