OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha residents have raised concerns about a visit from Rachel Dolezal, who resigned as president of an NAACP chapter in Washington last year after it was revealed that she is white.

University of Nebraska Medical Center professor Dr. Renaisa S. Anthony’s decision to bring her to Omaha to talk about race on Wednesday sparked a backlash on social media.

Anthony says she organized an invitation-only dinner with Dolezal for 25 people, including faculty, students and people from the community, as part of the university’s series of events called “Race-Inclusion-Diversity & Equity.”

Anthony welcomed the controversy, saying that she sought a “polarizing national figure” to attract people’s attention and start a conversation.