An Indiana University professor has reportedly been removed from teaching a class on social justice after she used a graphic that labeled the “Make America Great Again” slogan a covert form of white supremacy. The school took action against the professor under a new state law claiming to encourage “intellectual diversity.”
The law describes intellectual diversity as “multiple, divergent and varied scholarly perspectives on an extensive range of public policy issues.” It mandates that universities assess faculty on whether they promote a campus culture that encourages multiple perspectives while refraining from speaking about their personal views unrelated to work within the classroom.
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Critics say a law promoting intellectual diversity was used to stifle academic freedom. Their complaints echo allegations by conservatives who have said for years they were discouraged from expressing their views on campuses across the country.
What sparked the controversy?
The professor’s diagram reportedly showed examples of language and behavior that could be considered overt or covert white supremacy.
It gained widespread attention after an Indiana University student filed a complaint with Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., who has been closely associated with President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement. Banks then contacted the school.
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Harvard announced earlier this year that it would pay $500 million in a settlement with the Trump administration that accused the school of civil rights violations.
The senator’s complaint prompted the university’s School of Social Work to suspend the professor, Jessica Adams, from teaching the class titled “Diversity, Human Rights and Social Justice.”
Banks applauds school’s investigation
Banks celebrated Adams’ removal from teaching the course in a statement to The New York Times.
“At least one student in the classroom was uncomfortable, and I’m sure there are more,” he said in a statement. “This type of hateful rhetoric has no place in the classroom.”
Adams argued that the graphic was misconstrued. She continues to teach three other courses while awaiting the conclusion of an investigation that will determine if further she will be allowed to teach the diversity class again or face disciplinary action.
Adams told the Times that despite concern for her job, she wanted to speak out on the controversy.
“I feel this is an important issue to talk about — censorship, stifling of academic freedom and this real overreach through this legislation,” Adams said.
Adams said the graduate-level course with two dozen students included talks on racism because the topic often comes up in social work.
“We recognize that white supremacy is the ideology that emboldens racist behavior,” Adams said. She says she used the graphic to show forms of white supremacy, some of which are overt and others that are less obvious as “part of our daily lives that we don’t really consider.”
The illustration, a pyramid, was first used to explain white supremacy around two decades ago by a Colorado organization advocating for nonviolence and adapted by others over the years, according to The Times.
Indiana professors criticize instructor’s suspension
The Indiana University Bloomington chapter of the American Association of University Professors condemned Adams’ suspension from teaching the course, accusing the school of mishandling the investigation and using a state law meant to encourage “intellectual diversity” to stifle it.
The university said in a statement that it is “committed to academic freedom, following policies that uphold due process for faculty and provide a framework to best serve our students.” The statement added that the school “cannot comment on individual personal matters.”
Debates over university censorship
The Indiana controversy follows years of accusations by conservative students, professors and outside activists that they were the victims of censorship on campuses across the country.
According conservative organizations like the Goldwater Institute, conservative students had been targeted by university leaders through restrictions on free speech. Many students, the organization said in 2020, feared speaking openly about their views on campus.
Other conservative organizations, including Turning Point USA, have also accused many universities of being hotbeds of liberal indoctrination. The group founded by the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk created professor watchlists to report instances of alleged liberal bias from professors.
Now, free speech advocates say liberal views are being stifled as the Trump administration ramps up pressure on universities to get rid of curriculum that promotes diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives or risk losing millions of dollars in federal funding.
