Professor removed from teaching diversity class after graphic labeled MAGA slogan as example of white supremacy
Professor removed after labeling President Donald Trump's political slogan as an example of covert ‘white supremacy’ present in the United States of America.
Indiana University has removed a professor from teaching a diversity course after she used a classroom graphic that identified the “Make America Great Again” slogan as a form of covert white supremacy.
Jessica Adams, a lecturer in the School of Social Work, showed a pyramid graphic listing various examples of racism ranging from overt actions like racial slurs to more subtle behaviors such as denying white privilege or using slogans like “Make America Great Again.” The slide was part of a lesson in “Diversity, Human Rights and Social Justice,” a graduate-level course.
The incident came to light after a student contacted U.S. Sen. Jim Banks, according to The Indianapolis Star.
Banks alerted university leadership, prompting Adams’s removal from the course under Indiana’s recently enacted intellectual diversity law.
Adams said the graphic is regularly used in social work programs across Indiana University and was simply misinterpreted.
The university has not commented on Adams’s status but said it is committed to academic freedom and due process. Adams continues to teach other courses while under investigation.
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The Indiana state law requires public colleges to evaluate faculty on whether they introduce a variety of viewpoints and avoid pushing personal beliefs. Critics argue the law is being used to target progressive faculty and suppress classroom discussions on race.
The American Association of University Professors condemned the university’s action as an “abusive implementation” of state law, also citing broader crackdowns on diversity offices, student media, and faculty speech.
”The core mission of US higher education – the production of knowledge, education of students, and service to society – is currently at grave risk from the groundless and unjustified attacks of the Trump Administration,” AAUP wrote.
