University of Michigan DEI office claims that wokeness does not ‘limit free speech’

The University of Michigan’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) office tried to defend the term “woke,” claiming that it does not stop people from exercising free speech. 

“MYTH: ‘Being woke limits free speech,’” the DEI office wrote in an Instagram post on Friday. “FACT: ‘Woke’ means being aware and attentive, not limiting speech. DEl at U-M values open dialogue and understanding, creating spaces where diverse perspectives are shared and discussed freely during events and programs.”

[RELATED: Words popular on campuses like ‘Woke,’ ‘Safe space’ see very little use among Americans, survey finds] 

Some activists have been attempting to reclaim the word “woke” from the negative implications that many attach to it. 

Seena Hodges, for example, a self-identified “Woke Coach” who leads an organization of the same name defends being “woke” as “paying attention to social and societal injustices and . . . mov[ing] to action around those injustices.”

But not everyone agrees with the positive view of “woke.”

One commenter on the University of Michigan’s post replied: “Then why is the woke side of things pushing censorship so hard? Why are woke activists trained to shut down speech they don’t like?”

The ideology of “woke” has also received widespread backlash for shutting down free speech, as activists accuse those perceived as being anti-woke of being racists and bigots. 

[RELATED: PROF. JENKINS: ‘Woke-ness’ is in retreat in Florida] 

Retired Harvard Professor Harvey Mansfield, for example, wrote a 2023 op-ed in The Harvard Crimson to graduating students in which he stated: “Is anything lost by being woke? Yes, let me suggest there is. Instead of arguing the point, one begins to search for character defects and pounce when they are found. You blind yourself by taking offense because in doing so you are led to simplify the justice you think is so unquestionable. Instead of thinking about what justice might require, you try to shame opposition out of existence.”

DEI, which is frequently associated with “woke” ideology, has also been coming under increasing scrutiny and criticism, including at the University of Michigan, which has come under the spotlight recently for spending enormous sums to promote a DEI program that is perceived as a counterproductive failure. 

Campus Reform has reached out to the university’s DEI office for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.