A white Stanford educator has been nicknamed 'Professor Karen' after carrying out a protracted battle with a black computer science professor at UC Berkeley over a proposal to change the school's math curriculum. 

Jo Boaler, 58, a lecturer in education at Stanford, first drew the ire of Jelani Nelson for her support of a new recommended math program in California's schools. 

The controversial suggestions, which would have lowered the rigorousness of the state's curriculum in an attempt to increase 'equity,' have made some angry because in part they 'question the concept of student giftedness.'

Nelson has long been critical of Boaler's work on the new 'California Math Framework' saying Boaler was charging $5,000 an hour to peddle controversial theories while black academics were ignored.

Nelson even retweeted a filing showing Boalar was paid $40,000 in total - $5,000 an hour - for her work with a school district in Oxnard, California.

Boaler then grew angry over another retweet of Nelson's, which amplified a user who had made her address public. The person who wrote that tweet later deleted it.

On Tuesday, Nelson sent out a screenshot of an email Boaler sent him from last week.    

'As a courtesy to a fellow faculty member I wanted to let you know that the sharing of private details about me on social media yesterday is now being taken up by police and lawyers,' Boaler wrote to Nelson. 'I was shocked to see that you are taking part in spreading misinformation and harassing me online.' 

Nelson then claimed that Boaler 'threatened me with police' and compared her to other instances of white women who have called the authorities on black people. 

'After BBQ Becky, Permit Patty, Golfcart Gail, and all the memes, we now have Retweet Rachel,' he said. 'Public advisory: don't call the cops on black people for no reason. Black people disagreeing with you on Twitter is not a crime.'