"Within the historical trajectory, some black people have in fact believed that the only way to get liberation is through killing white people. It's been a major debate throughout history," he said.

Since the online magazine article went viral, Curry, who is black, said he's become the target of death threats and has received emails on his university account that include racist epithet. One image had a picture of a monkey with a gun in its mouth, he said, adding that he filed a complaint with police.

"The irony of this backlash is that I recently received an award and have been recognized by A&M for my research on these issues," Curry said, referring to Alain Locke Award for Public Philosophy by the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy. It was given for his commentaries on anti-black racism that have appeared on NPR, Salon.com, Forbes.com and various networks. "Dr. Young's statement asks the public to believe that while somehow all these people who have approved my research and honored it with an award, they have been mistaken? We have democratic procedures for peer review. My research has been out there for years and no one at this institution has informed me that there's an issue with it."

Young could not be reached for comment Thursday because, an official said, he was participating in three graduation ceremonies on campus.