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Taylor University Professor Loses Job After Citing Jemar Tisby on Syllabus

By Bob Smietana
moore tisby taylor
Julie Moore, inset, and the Taylor University campus in Upland, Indiana. (RNS photo by Emily McFarlan Miller / Courtesy Photo of Moore)

A veteran English professor at a leading evangelical university has lost her job — in part because a school official deemed her writing classes too liberal on the issue of race.

Julie Moore, an associate professor of English and director of the Writing Center at Taylor University in Indiana, said she learned in a meeting with the school’s provost earlier this year that her contract was not renewed.

When pressed for details, Taylor Provost Jewerl Maxwell said there had been complaints about assigned readings on racial justice in Moore’s classes. Maxwell named one author as problematic in particular, according to a recording of the meeting obtained by media.

“Jemar Tisby is the main focus,” Maxwell told Moore.

Tisby, a historian, is the author of “The Color of Compromise,” a New York Times bestselling book that details the way Christian faith and racism have been intertwined in American history. A popular speaker and writer about issues of race in evangelical circles, Tisby has become controversial with conservative Christians worried about “wokeness.”

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Jemar Tisby GCC
Jemar Tisby speaks at Grove City College in Oct. 2020, in Grove City, Pennsylvania. (Video screen grab)

Last year, the board of Grove City College, a conservative Christian school in Pennsylvania, issued a report that criticized diversity training and programs at the school as “woke” — which has become a catchall pejorative for all things liberal, especially regarding race. The report also said it had been a mistake for Tisby to speak at a Grove City chapel service.

During her meeting, Moore protested, pointing out that while she quoted from Tisby — whom she said she admires — in her syllabus*, she’d not assigned any writings by him to students. Her protest went unheeded as Maxwell told her he did not want to debate specifics, according to the recording.

“I felt I was in the twilight zone,” said the 58-year-old Moore, who said she’d taught about racial justice during her composition classes since she first began teaching in the 1990s. Moore came to Taylor in 2017 after teaching at Cedarville University and the historically Black Wilberforce University, both private Christian schools in Ohio.

At Taylor, she assigned students readings such as Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” Ta-Nehisi Coates’ “Letter to My Son” and Claudia Rankine’s New York Times essay “The Condition of Black Life Is One of Mourning.” Moore’s hope was to help her students, most of them white, develop some racial literacy and to see how the issue of racial justice related to their faith.

That was particularly important, she said, because Taylor is in a part of the state with a history of racism, including the 1930 lynching of two Black teenagers in nearby Marion, Indiana, that drew a crowd of spectators. Many of her students, she said, knew little of that history.

Now she fears the school’s leadership would prefer not to talk about issues of race. 

She compared her situation to that of Samuel Joeckel, an English professor at Palm Beach Atlantic University who was fired after a parent reportedly complained he had been “indoctrinating” students at the Christian college by teaching about racial justice.

“I am a faculty purge,” Moore said, saying she worries faculty who teach about systemic racism or the connection between racial justice and faith will no longer be welcome at the school. 

Taylor declined to comment on the specifics of Moore’s situation, saying it was a personnel matter.

“With any contract non-renewal, there are many factors that impact an organization’s decision,” the university said in a statement. “We understand and empathize with a faculty member’s disappointment when a contract renewal decision does not go as they had hoped. We are fully dedicated to embracing and celebrating diversity as an intentional community striving to live out the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which transcends all ethnic, cultural, socio-economic, and national divisions.”

Taylor University
Taylor University in Upland, Indiana

After news about Moore’s situation became public, Taylor President Michael Lindsay sent out a letter to the campus community, saying the school was “fully dedicated to embracing and celebrating diversity.” He also announced the school would hold two forums — one for students, one for faculty and staff — to address concerns about the school’s approach to diversity.

Faced with declining enrollments, shaky finances and increasingly polarized donors and alums, Christian colleges have found themselves in a struggle for survival in recent years, said John Hawthorne, a sociologist who taught in Christian higher education for decades.

Many of those colleges were predominantly white for most of their history. As they’ve worked to recruit more ethnically diverse student populations, administrations have also created multicultural programs to serve those students. That’s led to a pushback from conservative students and donors — especially due to the national controversy over critical race theory, an academic approach to understanding systemic racism.

“Now you have people saying you have to disband all of that,” Hawthorne said.

That, Tisby told media, has made writers like himself “persona non grata in conservative Christian circles.” 

Tisby, who now teaches at Simmons College of Kentucky, wrote about Moore this week on his Substack newsletter. In an interview, he said some Christian schools are in a “race to the right” to appease conservative supporters. Others saw the controversy over his work at Grove City and, he believes, have decided that having substantive discussions about race is too much of a public relations headache.

Jemar Tisby. (Photo by Hawa Images)

“My disappointment is for the professors who are the casualties of these cancel culture models,” said Tisby. “They’re faithful teachers and they don’t deserve this.”

The move to become more conservative may work in the short term, said Hawthorne. But he worries about the future of schools like Taylor.

“They are playing a game of musical chairs,” he said. “They think the only way to survive as a Christian school is to be politically conservative.”

English professor and author Karen Swallow Prior, who taught in Christian higher education for decades, said Christian colleges “cease to be distinctively Christian” when they are driven more by external pressures than by their statements of faith.

“Times are tough across the board in higher education,” said Prior, a columnist for Religion News Service. “Christian schools need now more than ever to stay on mission and to not give in to political forces that simply want to exploit education to gain points for their own side. Christians must be about education, not indoctrination.”

Moore said she was aware students have complained about her classes in the past. Those complaints, she said, came up during her most recent review in 2021. Thomas Jones, then serving as interim provost, suggested she add readings from “a broader range of perspectives” in her class, including those from more conservative sources like the Heritage Foundation. 

In an interview, Moore said she checked with the chair of her department about how to proceed and said she was told those were suggestions, not requirements. 

Both the chair of her department and her dean supported the renewal of her contract at that time, according to copies of letters of support reviewed by media. (See letters at the end of article.)

Moore also said she redesigned her class with some of the suggestions from the review process in mind. But she did not add more conservative readings.

maxwell
Jewerl Maxwell. (Photo via Taylor University)

That became an issue in January 2023, when she received an email asking her to come to Maxwell’s office for a meeting. There, Maxwell criticized Moore for not following Jones’ suggestions, which he saw as requirements. Moore told him that if they’d been requirements, she would have followed them.

“I kept saying, nobody told me that was a mandate — and that I would lose my job if I didn’t add those sources,” she said in the interview.

Maxwell had come to Taylor as provost in December of 2021, joining Lindsay’s administration. The two had worked together previously at Gordon College. Lindsay had succeeded former Taylor President Paul Lowell Haines, who resigned due to controversy over his decision to invite then-Vice President Mike Pence to speak at the school’s graduation. While the board supported the invitation, a number of faculty and students objected.

Moore said Lindsay — whose tenure at Gordon was marked with controversy over his conservative policies, especially about sexuality — has changed Taylor’s culture.

Moore came to the school in 2017 after leaving Cedarville University, which took a turn in a more conservative direction about a decade ago, leading to a faculty exodus.

Now she worries something similar may happen at Taylor.

She’s also worried about her own future. The news that she was about to lose her job came as a shock and left her with few options. Jobs for college professors are scarce — especially jobs for older professors.

“I’m too old to be on the job market,” she said in an interview. “And too young to retire.”

During the meeting with Maxwell, whom she knew from her days at Cedarville, Moore pleaded to be given one more year to teach at the school so she’d have time to find another job.

“I really need a year so that I can figure out what in the world to do,” she told Maxwell. “I really do. I don’t want to beg but I’m begging. I don’t know what to do.”

Maxwell made no promises.

“I will certainly continue to pray about it,” he told Moore.

*Update: Here is Tisby’s quote, which Mooore included in her syllabus. It is from Tisby’s book, The Color of Compromise: 

The refusal to act in the midst of injustice is itself an act of injustice. Indifference to oppression perpetuates oppression. History and Scripture teach us that there can be no reconciliation without repentance. There can be no repentance without confession. And there can be no confession without truth.

Audio of Jan. 27, 2023, meeting between Taylor Provost Jewerl Maxwell and Julie Moore:

 

Transcript of Jan. 27, 2023, meeting between Taylor Provost Jewerl Maxwell and Julie Moore, provided by Moore.

Transcript-Jan27-Meeting-Maxwell-Moore

 

Letter from Taylor Dept. of English, Interim Chair to Taylor University Interim Provost – Oct. 27, 2021

Letter-Interim-English-Dept-Chair-JulieMoore_Redacted

Letter from Taylor Interim Dean to Taylor University Interim Provost – Nov. 1, 2021

Letter-Taylor-Dean-JulieMoore_Redacted

Annual Review Letter from Taylor Interim Provost to Prof. Julie Moore – Nov. 11, 2021

Provost-Letter-Annual-Review-2021-JulieMoore_Redacted

 

Bob SmietanaBob Smietana is a national reporter for Religion News Service.

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66 Responses

  1. Tisby’s book was wonderful–white Christians should read it. Using it for a composition class is a terrific idea. It’s not that people are afraid of being woke, it’s that they want to stay asleep on issues that they think they can just ignore.

    1. Thank-you!

      The reality is the Evangelical asleep crowd are all about cancel culture – of which this event is a perfect example – so much for that freedom of speech and the American constitution…..

  2. Wow. So much to unpack that I will have to return to re-read this as I am headed off to work right now. Right now I am re-reading respected evangelical professor Mark Noll’s landmark and prescient book published in the early 1990’s, The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind (and recently re-issued with a new Foreword and Afterword taking into account all that has happened on the evangelical scene since original publication date). He fronts his working hypothesis at the start of the book: the scandal of the evangelical mind is that there isn’t much of one. Here yet is but another example of the truth of his working hypothesis. Until those inside the educational / religious industrial complete of Big Eva see this, they are working with the seeds of their own destruction. The small implosions we see in each small scandal are but an expression of this larger truth.

    1. Thank-you!

      The reality is the Evangelical asleep crowd are all about cancel culture – of which this event is a perfect example – so much for that freedom of speech and the American constitution…..

      In CONTRAST – Paul was all about being “woke” – AWAKE THOU THAT SLEEPEST…!!!

  3. I am Chair of the AAUP’s Indiana state Committee A, which deals with academic freedom. Thank you for this article, and, especially, for including all the documents, which is important in controversies. We will reach out to Professor Moore.

  4. I got the impression that Mrs. Moore understood that her class was oriented too much to the left, and bringing balance was the desire of Taylor leadership. So, she ignored the guidance by not bringing the balance desired. Evangelical colleges need to be careful that they don’t fall into the “woke” philosophies of the left–especially CRT. I don’t mind if professors teach about CRT, but I mind a lot if they are teaching it as a correct biblical perspective.

    1. “oriented too much to the left”

      I’m very curious to know if one can be oriented too much to the right and still be deemed a christian.

      i’m amazed at how unwelcoming my fellow christians have made christianity. how totalitarian & censorious.

      growing up christian in average non-denominational churches, there were all kinds of viewpoints. people weren’t afraid of different perspectives, and there was lots of dialogue to learn and understand. one’s political affiliation was as unimportant as who their insurance carrier was.

      i hate what my religion has become.

    2. I am curious as to why “Christian” colleges would object to ANY teachings about injustices toward our fellow man. Christ was the ultimate teacher about injustice. ” Woke” means enlightened. It should be neither Left or Right. It should be about HUMANITY, something the Right seems to running away from.

    3. You get at a question I had while reading. Readings from the Heritage Foundation were recommended to ‘balance’ the course. But what if those would only be reinforcement of things the students already believe/know? Would that be education or just passing on the status quo? It seems at times if some donors/parents on the one side of the controversy believe that ‘education’ is supposed to be limited to “passing on the status quo” and this is really the heart of the controversy.

      A lot of other people, across the spectrum (not limited to ‘leftists’) especially good profs, believe that an education, especially an expensive/private one is supposed to teach or put onto the radar New Things…if only at the least, for their consideration and in the process of deciding what to do with that different perspective, they mature in their spirituality and convictions. (eg you want to grow in your faith? one of the best ways is to be challenged by those who don’t share your faith…)

      As I observe from a distance, there seems to be a small but fierce group of mostly parents/donors who do not want the latter to happen…

    4. Would you please define CRT, point to where in the coursework you are aware of it being taught, and then explain how that specific teaching is unbiblical? Thank you

  5. While authors like Tisby are blatantly unbiblical in their views on race (and yes, I’ve read two of his books and listened extensively to Pass The Mic), the failure of evangelical schools and churches to point people to biblical voices on this subject is disheartening as well, and will just continue to lead to the status quo at best on this issue, and at worst, lead people to be discipled in an unbiblical view of race by people like Tisby, LaTasha Morrison, Austin Channing Brown, Mark Charles, Soong Chan Rah, etc. There is content by groups like the Center for Biblical Unity, books by authors like Thaddeus Williams and George Yancey, and content by writers like Neil Shenvi and Samuel Say, and podcasts like Just Thinking (Virgil Walker, Darrell Harrison), Black and Blurred, Off Code, and Prescribe Truth (Jamal Bandy), that provide a very scripture-centered way to think about and take action on this issue. One that doesn’t take its cues from secular sociology, twisting scripture to try and make it fit into the dominant worldly narrative on the issue. But if schools and churches respond by just silencing the topic itself, it will lead to disaster in the long run for the church, and nothing will actually get better.

    1. “blatantly unbiblical in their views on race”
      ++++++++++++++++++

      so, no difference of interpretations allowed, then?

      i’m simply shocked at the state of christian culture… silos of one view and one view only, full of nervous people scaredy-cat cancelling everyone who arrives at a different conclusion through informed study.

      1. If you read Jamar Tisby, you’ll see that he doesn’t actually appeal to scripture for anything he teaches or advocates for, he only appeals to secular sociology, throwing in some history to try and build an emotional argument.

        So it’s not really an issue of different interpretations, it’s an issue of using the Bible to inform your teaching, or not using it at all, and just parroting what a Godless culture as decided is the right approach.

      2. Scottie:

        How do you feel about the Bible? What do you believe it means when Jesus says:

        “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6 ?

        Your comments indicate you believe “informed study” can lead to different conclusions.

        Different conclusions about….WHAT, exactly?

    2. Gus. It would be helpful if you could succinctly define how you understand Biblical and unbiblical, so readers might understand the difference that you are seeing. Regards what you say about “secular sociology” might you give some indication of what current knowledges you respectively embrace and reject. Could you summarise, again for readers without the advantages of the reading you cite, just what it is that makes Tisby’s views on race unbiblical.
      In the interest of disclosure, my own background is in social science. So, “The refusal to act in the midst of injustice is itself an act of injustice”; chimes well for me. What he says about reconciliation and truth; also chimes. I might push back on what he says about repentance; as being (sociologically) a demand-too-far that might obstruct the priority of securing reconciliation.

      1. You might? Love your neighbor but only reconcile to God above all else. Not reconcile to neighbor above all else. No “might ” there. That is the pin point problem. Repentance is person to God and hard. It is not an option for some.

        1. Roger. I accept and respect that God must have priority for some, and that repentance under God’s aegis and Gaze is crucially central to the Christian faith of some. For me, orientation to God and neighbour must go hand in hand, and reconciliation between neighbours remains the priority for work. Across my reading of the Bible, the indefinability of God is central, the tolerance of God is beyond human comprehension. I view doctrine and theology as always at risk of the impulse to capture God cognitively, at risk of the impulse to construct graven cerebral images of what in truth always remains an ineffable and transcendent mystery. A doctrinally constructed God that takes priority over humans and humanity, is inhuman and inhumane, is a dysfunctional human cerebral construct. Working to see humans reconciled, is hard, is not something that can be turned away from for some.

      2. Great question Colin. One major difference between my theology and that of Jamar Tisby is the definition of the gospel itself. Tisby left his job at the Witness to work as the assistant director of Ibram X Kendi’s Center For Antiracist Research. Their official view is that they “fundamentally reject savior theology” as racist, with “savior theology” being the idea that Jesus came to die as a sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin. Instead, they hold that Jesus came soley to “liberate society from the powers on earth that are oppressing humanity,”. So this is not some secondary or tertiary debate over interpretation, like end times theology, infant cs adult baptism, or complementarianism vs egalitarianism. It comes down to the very nature of who Jesus is, our savior from eternal punishment due to our separation from God because of our sin, or someone who came to start a social revolution. The Bible is very clear on what Jesus came to do, including that he told the disciples that he wasn’t here to overthrow their Roman oppressors, so that’s why I said that Tisby’s views are unbiblical.

  6. If she would have continued teaching, you would have written a story on how Taylor is allowing some teaching in classes. Taylor can’t win. I appreciate so many of your stories. Picking on a college for trying to maintain conservative teaching seems like a waste of resources.

  7. It appears from what I’ve read here that Professor Moore’s class was too lopsided in its perspective. It was suggested by her superiors that she make it more balanced. She apparently didn’t understand that suggestions from a supervisor should not be disregarded lightly. Her contract not being renewed should not have been a surprise to anyone paying attention.

  8. Both Professor Moore and her colleague undergoing similar treatment in Florida should continue to provide functional details —as they have—about leadership where they were “formerly” employed and the singular lack of insight at that level in pursuit of a mirage called “evangelical” higher education. The facts testify to systemic removal of those bearing light in the way of the kingdom; possibly the initial blindedness of the administrations involved will dissipate and they will humbly re-install these seasoned Professors back to lecture halls which continue to educate students in truth and integrity. Currently— based on the data presented—fear of real facts appears to result in Admin removing mature teachers from their positions. VERY sad state of circumstances and NO witness to Jesus the Christ.

  9. Professor Moore knew exactly what she was doing and writing. Tone deaf a bit is Professor Moore.

  10. Hi, Julie Roys. Mr. Smietana wrote a very detailed article about Professor Julie Moore losing her job. The article mentions in passing “the national controversy over critical race theory, an academic approach to understanding systemic racism.”

    Julie, I’m sure you know that some reputable scholars and theologians have written sober critiques of CRT. I think it would be very instructive for the Roys Report to feature an article that explains the pitfalls and/or fallacies of critical race theory. Such an article would help your readers draw their own conclusions about a complex topic.

    1. Surely you mean a fair presentation, one that gives equal consideration to both arguments for and against critical race theory.

    2. Julie Roys, I request that you interview Douglas Groothuis, professor of philosophy at Denver Seminary, about CRT. He has studied the subject and written about it, including in his recent book, Fire in the Streets.

    3. David, do you think Prof. Moore was teaching CRT? If so, then I can see your point. If she was not, then I’m sure what the point would be in this context…

    4. I can help with that. CRT is the recognition that systemic racism exists. I don’t understand how anyone can know American history and believe it magically disappeared between 1950 and now. But many cling to that idea because it makes those boxes easier to check off and it makes it easier to ignore injustices because acknowledging injustice then requires Christians to do something about it. Of course I know God does not discriminate; of course I know there is no Greek or Jew in God’s eyes; of course I know we will glory as one and all forms of inequality and discrimination will be gone when all of God’s children reside in Heaven. But right now we reside on Earth. And loads of people are hurting because of their race or ethnicity. Here is a question to ponder — why isn’t the church shouting down anti-Semitic initiatives? Agendas, that’s why. And God will never bend to humankind’s agendas. Political fads and trends should not be shaping the minds, hearts, beliefs, or behaviors of those who comprise God’s church. We are not onward Christian soldiers or fishers of men when we deny the injustices that exist among us. Your testimony is shot the moment you do so.

  11. It was 40 years ago as a student at Taylor that my eyes were opened regarding quiet (and perhaps not so quiet) racism. Students of color, both U.S. citizens and international students, told me about some of their experiences on Taylor campus in those days that were quite unpleasant for them. At that time, I was given the freedom to study and to discuss these issues. Academic freedom is not absolute, but providing a variety of perspectives is certainly what Dr. Moore did for her students. They pay enough to go there, that is what they pay for.

  12. The author says that critical race theory is an academic tool used for understanding systemic racism. That is a calculated and intentional misrepresentation of what critical race theory is. He also states that the term woke is a pejorative catchall to describe all things liberal. That statement in and of itself is revealing that the authors viewpoint is not so much about journalism as it is about offering his own opinion.

  13. The fact that the leadership suggest the Heritage Foundation as a credible source tells me everything I need to know about the deep and blind biases of the leadership of that “college”.

  14. Thank you for this story. It is encouraging that Christians are pushing back against racism and division. Thank God for schools like this that are cleaning house and protecting the flock from the wolves of division and racism. It is important that the church push back against the culture and does not let the culture determine our doctrine and dictate our positions. The church should be in the business of uniting people in Christ, not dividing people into categories.

    1. CRT? We all need to recognize that everyone is a racist in our flesh. This sin is not confined to any one race. The Judeans of LORD JESUS’s day were racist (see Acts 6, Luke 10:25). Only LORD JESUS can save us. The WOKE agenda is based on relative truth, which is straight from Satan’s playbook. LORD JESUS told us, “I AM the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIGHT,” JOHN 14:6. As HIS disciples we need to be spreading HIS gospel. Accentuating past injustices only enslaves us in hate. Nelson Mandela understood this. When realeased from prison, he was asked if he would seek revenge against those who imprisoned him. His response: “As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn’t leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I’d still be in prison.” Only LORD JESUS can heal us from ourselves. Woke and CRT can’t. Please tell the world the gospel. It is our only hope…

      1. God is a God of means. How about preaching the gospel and using ‘wokeness’ and CRT to reveal the sins of mankind.

      2. “Accentuating past injustices only enslaves us in hate.”

        And denying past injustices only enslaves us to repeating them. It silences the stories of survivors so that others can feel “comfortable.” And it also quiets the testimonies of how our God delivers. (Ever wonder why we read of the oppression faced by the Israelites in scripture? It’s not to enslave us in hate. It’s to enslave us to faith in a God who delivers.)

        I am the proud descendant of slaves and child of parents who grew up in Jim Crow. Their stories of faith and resilience in the face of hatred continue to be told in our family as a way of passing down our testimony of how God has protected and delivered us to the next generation. We will not stop sharing them to make others feel “comfortable.”

        1. Marin:

          Yes, keep on sharing your stories of Christ’s deliverance from the hatred of racism. I will continue to share my stories of Christ’s deliverance from the power of sin in my life. He has thrown my sins into the deepest part of the sea and posted a “no fishing” sign. I am eternally grateful. I no longer bear the burden of guilt. I am free! I am no longer a victim to sin or its power. Indeed, I am not a victim at all. Christ’s sacrifice for me has erased any and all forms of victimhood in my life. I am HIS child, now and forever. People cannot touch me or hurt me any more because I am a child of God. I have found that dwelling on past wrongs robs me of the joy God promises His children. I have found that forgiveness goes a long way toward leading a happy life.

          And, hopefully, I have grown past the need to relive past wrongs done to me and my family and can share the power of forgiveness and love with those who follow after me.

          We have all been hurt by sin and its effects in one way or another. You and your family and your people are not alone, nor are you unique when it comes to suffering. We have all suffered.

          1. Cynthia –

            Do we do this to survivors of sexual assault – reply to their sharing with making it about our own growth “past the need to relive it” or tell them “you aren’t the only ones who have suffered – I have too”?
            Do we do this to Jews who share stories of the Holocaust?

            I don’t think you mean to do this, but the statements above are little more than a coded, passive aggressive “when will Black people shut up?” response that makes it all about YOU – what YOU have done, how YOU have felt, what YOU have experienced. It comes across as defensive and self-centered. And I do hope you don’t think that Black people sharing our stories is all about hating you. Real talk: it’s not about YOU at all.

            Why can’t we listen to the stories of Black people with more empathy? Is our only response to place ourselves at the center?

  15. What I find amusing about all of this is that the folks who attack Critical Race Theory usually don’t have any idea of what it actually is. To say that Jamar Tisby teaches CRT is a joke. Oftentimes what these right-wing critics do is mimic what they hear from Donald Trump or Christopher Rufo, both of whom have racist undertones to everything they say and pretend that any attempt to deal with actual historical evidence is somehow CRT. Let me say it clearly. First, CRT is one attempt to explain the 250-year history of slavery, Jim Crow, and racism in America. It is not the only attempt and that is what scholarly debate is about. Second, the historical evidence of overwhelming racism in American history and its brutal impact on African Americans is overwhelming, and nothing can change that. These two professors are NOT pushing ideology as much as they are trying to get their students to understand and come to terms with that.

    1. @Bob – what I find amusing is that those who so often push the CRT will tell those who don’t support it that they “don’t have any idea of what it actually is.” Many understand exactly what it is and reject it. Look at the people of color standing against school boards telling the board members that they don’t want it taught to their children. They aren’t ignorant. They have seen it first hand being pushed onto their children and have had discussions with their children. It isn’t some mystical theory. We have seen public school teachers plainly state their intentions of indoctrinating children in this theory. And a significant number of the people of color standing up to the school boards aren’t right wing critics.

      1. Don –

        People of color being on all sides of an issue does not validate nor invalidate an argument. It just simply shows that we – like white people – are not a monolith and can hold multiple views and perspectives among our community.
        Can we PLEASE stop doing the “See, I’m right because that person of color agrees with me”?!? It’s simplistic, condescending, insulting, and reduces our community to ONE voice.
        For ALL of you claiming to “not see color” or that we are your equals – then show us by letting us be a community of various perspectives too!

      2. People telling school board that they don’t want CRT taught to their children shows that they do not understand what CRT is, and are using it as the catch-all term that Christopher Rufo intended to misdefine it as. CRT is a graduate level area of study (as is any kind of critical theory). This actually proves the assumption that people who are rejecting CRT usually don’t know what CRT is (whether they are people of color or not). I have yet to hear anyone who rejects CRT accurately describe what it is, or have objections that are actually about what it is.

        Feel free to prove me wrong by explaining what CRT is and why you find it objectionable or unbiblical. I will apologize for my assumptions if you do.

      3. Don, can you provide an example (news story?) of a family who has seen “it first hand being pushed onto their children” – I don’t want to disbelieve you, but I’ve never heard of such a thing. Do you have real life evidence (not a mention from talk radio) to share?

        And do you also have a real life example, verbatim quote, multiple sourced/corroborated of “public school teachers plainly [stating] their intentions of indoctrinating children in this theory” – real life transcript / report etc. And please no 3rd hand mentions from talk radio, social media or “Christian” media. Stories from these kinds of sources are not prime sources…

        Again, I don’t want to believe you’ve just made those claims up, but I’ve never heard of such things actually happening anywhere, ever. So the burden is on you to show these things have actually taken place in reality (and more than once as well… One-offs are not worthy of my or anyone’s worry/anxiety).

  16. For those claiming that Prof. Moore didn’t make efforts to respond to her supervisor’s suggestion for more balance, that’s not accurate. Moore describes *several* substantive changes she made to her comp class curriculum in response to the former provost’s suggestions (see transcript of interview with Maxwell, pp. 4-5). Moore mentions on her interview with Jemar Tisby that she read up on the Heritage Foundation and found that their stance on multiculturalism was different (& more disparaging) than Taylor’s institutional stance, so she declined to assign Heritage Foundation readings.

    This is not a case of an intransigent or purposefully biased instructor. This is clearly a prof who is constantly trying to improve her craft based on best practices in composition instruction.

  17. I just want to note, whatever one’s opinion on this case, that the following sentence is not objective journalism.

    “Last year, the board of Grove City College, a conservative Christian school in Pennsylvania, issued a report that criticized diversity training and programs at the school as “woke” — which has become a catchall pejorative for all things liberal, especially regarding race.”

    It adds nothing to the story, but tells us everything about the objectivity of its author.

    1. Actually, Wayne, I find it does add something to the story. “Woke” is a term being lazily and improperly applied to a lot of things lately. Grove City College improperly using the term in a report tells me about the quality and accuracy of the report – not to mention the quality and bias of the school itself.
      FYI, “woke” means to be awake or aware, particularly to injustices like racism. (I still fail to see how any Christian has an issue with this, but that’s another thread)
      But I see conservatives screaming “stop with the woke!” when there’s a same sex kiss in a film, or when a school shows its students a film based on the story of Ruby Bridges integrating a school. There was also the plight to change the Rosa Parks story to read “she was asked to change seats” (incorrect)n with no mention of race to “avoid being woke.” TRUE stories.
      If you misuse the term, it says a lot about your (mis)understanding and perspective.

      1. Yes, Marin, your definition of woke is lovely and it feels good. The problems come with its implementation. So right now the Woke Biden administration wants to penalize home mortgage borrowers who have a good credit score by having them subsidize lower credit score borrowers so they can get mortgages. This is insanity as most ‘woke’ initiatives are. Definition is nice, the reality not so much. 2008, De ja vu all over again.

        1. Scott – it’s not MY definition. Woke is a term that has been used by the Black community for DECADES to describe “waking up” to the injustices experienced over the generations – to know our own past and present, and what we have and continue to overcome. Others just “caught on”. I didn’t define it, nor do I really use it very much; it’s just not how I speak.
          And a big reason why it’s important to know what “woke” actually means, is it clarifies what it means to be for or against it. I have known many people to rant against “woke”; yet when I ask them questions, they actually DO support teaching about the history and impact of racism in this country (which is at the heart of “being woke”).
          Likewise, I’ve known people who claim to be “woke”, and what they described was NOT it at all. I wouldn’t even describe this current administration as “woke”.
          I just wish the term would go away altogether. It’s use is now so politicized and weaponized that it’s quite irrelevant.

    2. Marin, you are doing exactly what you criticize. Using singular outlandish examples (TRUE stories) to dismiss very real issues in our culture.

      Now, since the author of the article literally claims that “woke” is a “catchall pejorative for all things liberal, especially regarding race,” let me ask you for examples of “woke” being used by conservatives with regard to funding Social Security or school lunch programs, or the effort now to make the nation entirely dependent on a single form of energy. Can you find examples where these liberal efforts are defined as “woke”? If not, then “woke” is not a term for “all things liberal.” It means something.

      As regards “woke” and racial issues: are you aware that anti-racism disparages Dr. King’s dream of a colorblind society, where people are judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin? That was a liberal ideal (and a noble one). Now it is a conservative ideal.
      Did you read the NY Times column by Pamela Paul revealing that 29 scientists (including two Nobel laureates) collaborated on a paper titled “In Defense of Merit in Science,” but major science journals refused to publish it? Merit, after all, works against DEI. That’s woke.

      1. Wayne –
        It SHOULD be outlandish to stop teaching about Ruby Bridges or incorrectly teach about Rosa Parks in schools. But it’s NOT, looking at the conservatives loudly in support of it – or how those who disagree are being REALLY quiet.
        Dr King’s dream does not solely belong to one political party. There are plenty of people on ALL sides who agree with it. Yet conservatives are good at cherrypicking ONE line from ONE speech to claim they fully know Dr King’s dream. Yet if you read ALL of Dr King’s writings and speeches, he was actually quite “woke” and radical (was an anti-capitalist, wanted to defund the military, etc). Read “A Time to Break the Silence”, “The American Dream” or “Where Do We Go From Here”. You’ll see he NEVER promoted a color blind society. Dr King supported our humanity SUPERCEDING color. To be colorblind is to ignore differing needs, experiences, perspectives and cultures; to “shut up” about injustices that have impacted and marginalized groups BECAUSE of difference (because “it makes others uncomfortable”). Yet Dr King said to “shut up” about injustice is to let it continue.
        To focus on content of character is to day “YES, we have differing needs, experiences and cultures that should be acknowledged, but that does NOT define your character, ability or value.” That’s why I roll my eyes when people act as if it’s DEI or merit. It’s yes/and, not either/or. You can have representation AND merit. I say that as a Black woman who graduated with honors from Stanford. I am VERY capable “despite” checking DEI boxes. Conservatives find that shocking LOL

      2. Wayne (continued)

        The only times I’ve seen issues like social security, school lunch programs, or energy (ESG) issues be referred to as “woke” is when they are seen as a way to correct or address the socioeconomic impact of decades of injustice.
        For example, I know a lot of issues around energy sources have to do with addressing what I call the “Erin Brokovich” cases: minimizing or eliminating the hazards faced by families (often poor, and often people of color) who live near manufacturing plants.
        I’ve always said I don’t understand how Christians can support cutting funding to the elderly or slashing funding for school meals for poor kids (who often receive their only sufficient meal at school); that goes against the Bible I read. I think that’s more important than yelling at the school board over showing the Ruby Bridges story. (Yes, I think this debate over “woke” is a distraction from REAL everyday issues). But hey….everyone has their reasons.

        1. Marin:

          Here is a quote from your comments:

          “I’ve always said I don’t understand how Christians can support cutting funding to the elderly or slashing funding for school meals for poor kids (who often receive their only sufficient meal at school); that goes against the Bible I read.”

          The Bible talks about money a lot. One of the key concepts covered in the Bible is fiscal responsibility and prudence, particularly when others’ money is involved. It’s quite easy to take a stand against cutting funds as long as the funds in question do not come out of one’s own pocket.

          I have seen this opinion promulgated often by those who have nothing to lose by increasing taxes on others to pay for their “social” programs. That could be one reason some Christians object to the wasteful government spending we see all around us.

          Perhaps the Church needs to step up to the plate to help those in need.

          1. I agree the church needs to step up. Julie covers a lot of stories regarding churches having money for high profile speakers, multiple campuses, and lavish lifestyles; I often ask how much are they using to help those in need? We need to ask for more transparency here.

            And scripture calls us to take care of the elderly, widowed, and poor, PERIOD. It also gives us examples of believers pooling their money together to be divided among the body. We also see what Jesus asks of the rich young ruler.

            Data also shows that the average believer in the US gives less than 3% of their income to charitable organizations; WELL below a tithe.

            I find it interesting that we stay yelling for more and more military spending (I guess that’s ok government spending); and will yell even louder to cut off money to feed children.

  18. These discussions typically ignore the ever changing meaning of words (thanks to those in power with agendas to dismantle society).

    There was a time when being a racist meant one was proud of their ethnic heritage, unlike the negative meaning it has today. Back when there were only two sexes and no confusion as to what one was: male and female. Back when a virus meant poison…

    Those same influential (evil) powers have managed to also hide the history of the slavery of European whites which far outweighs the number of American blacks in slavery. They also have hidden the present day slavery of the modern world to their wicked agendas to include transhumanism, which is far more of a threat than the subject of this post, imo.

    No doubt they have succeeded in getting Christians to quibble about the lesser issues.

    1. Kenly –
      “Those same influential (evil) powers have managed to also hide the history of the slavery of European whites which far outweighs the number of American blacks in slavery.”

      This is a common argument to deflect, downgrade, and belittle the evil and impact of slavery here on Black people. It centers the argument on “what about white people?” again. It’s frustrating that it ALWAYS must come back to white people – how they feel, what they have experienced, etc. No one else can have anything else focused on them for A SECOND. This is actually a big part of white supremacy – only the experiences, feelings, and beliefs of white people ultimately matter. It must ALWAYS come back to them.

      It also conveniently ignores that the US was the first and ONLY country to write “all men are created equal” in our founding documents – while our (Christian) founding fathers owned slaves. They violated scripture and their own written words.

  19. If professor is not tenured anything can happen………..

    In reading the conversation between Julie and the Provost it seems the students were still questioning if this was an English composition class or a class on sociology.

    When students start complaining to the college administration it usually does not take long before the professor is gone.

    In Julie’s case, she should have stayed clear of potentially divisive topics especially at a white evangelical college in the Midwest. Since this was an English composition class where there are a million books from which to read, a person could have easily avoided going close to the danger zone of political activism.

  20. “ This is a common argument to deflect, downgrade, and belittle the evil and impact of slavery here on Black people. It centers the argument on “what about white people?” again. It’s frustrating that it ALWAYS must come back to white people – how they feel, what they have experienced, etc. ”

    Marin, I’m sorry you see it that way, but the truth I spoke of provides context of the greater dimension of slavery in the history of humanity that very few people of all races are aware of. My formal education failed to teach me this, did yours? There is a reason most history courses and media outlets leave this out of the record.

    I cannot think of any of my black friends down through the years who had prior knowledge of this, and most initially resisted accepting this as truth, and were rather shocked when they first heard it from me. No doubt, it changes the way they see their lot in life.

    1. Kenly –

      I can’t speak to the experience of others, but as for ME – I heard more about the enslavement and experiences of white people across the world than I did about the experiences of Black people ANYWHERE. Even in AP US history courses, I heard about slavery and MLK. Oh, and Harriet Tubman. Apparently no other Black Americans did anything. And to say so will warrant cries from the anti-CRT and anti-woke crowd. (See the fight over teaching about Ruby Bridges and Rosa Parks).
      My AP World History book didn’t even include Nelson Mandela. Seriously. But I can tell you about the history of the vikings.

      And again, the reason why slavery HERE is so commonly addressed is due to its violation of our own Constitution; and that we are one of the few countries that still deflects, downplays and denies its long term impacts.

      Even the UK has made public statements AND given reparations (as recently as the 90’s) to impacted descendants.

      Meanwhile, we stay stuck in a loop of “but what about (anyone else)”. Again, I don’t see us responding to the plight of Jewish people with “well y’all aren’t the only ones who were persecuted”. We ONLY respond that way to hearing about the enslavement of Black people. It’s a sinful response to a sinful act.

  21. “ Again, I don’t see us responding to the plight of Jewish people with “well y’all aren’t the only ones who were persecuted”. We ONLY respond that way to hearing about the enslavement of Black people. It’s a sinful response to a sinful act.”

    Marin, I appreciate your thoughts, but would encourage you to read Heb 12 and see how the writer points suffering people to quit being myopic by considering ALL those who have gone before them, to consider how much Jesus suffered, and to consider the fact that they have not given their lives yet.

    It’s all about perspective for the author, nothing about skin color or ethnicity… but admittedly, I’m at a bit of advantage having read your thoughts on this subject here for years, while you have very little of mine since I typically don’t choose to engage on this issue.

    1. Kenly –

      I do appreciate your response. I also want you to know that nothing is new under the sun – not even racism. And a lot of the attitudes, actions, and behaviors about, towards and between the nation of Israel and other nations in scripture were rooted in racism (e.g., Samaritans vs Jews; Miriam’s reaction to Moses’s wife being a Cushite; etc).

      I appreciate your perspective and reference to Hebrews 12. I do believe it points us to the commonalities in human suffering so that we can carry one another’s burdens and walk alongside one another. I also believe that we are called to be compassionate and empathetic, and that does NOT include responding to someone sharing their hurt or plight with “whatever…others have been hurt too!” Can you share a time when someone responded to your hurt with that reaction? How did that help you?

  22. “ Even the UK has made public statements AND given reparations (as recently as the 90’s) to impacted descendants.”

    Marin, are you familiar with the history of the original 1819 13th amendment that was removed from the Constitution during the civil war?

    “ According to the Tennessee Laws (1715-1820, vol. II, p. 774), in the 1794 Jay Treaty, the United States agreed to pay 600,000 pounds sterling to King George III, as reparations for the American revolution. The Senate ratified the treaty in secret session and ordered that it not be published. When Benjamin Franklin’s grandson published it anyway, the exposure and resulting public uproar so angered the Congress that it passed the Alien and Sedition Acts (1798) so federal judges could prosecute editors and publishers for reporting the truth about the government. Since we had won the Revolutionary War, why would US Senators agree to pay reparations to the loser? And why would they agree to pay 600,000 pounds sterling, eleven years after the war ended? It doesn’t make sense, especially in light of Senate’s secrecy and later fury over being exposed, unless we assume US Senators had been bribed to serve the British monarchy and betray the American people. That’s subversion.”

    https://michaelruark.blog/2020/09/12/the-first-and-missing-13th-amendment/

    The civil war only put an end to a certain type of slavery, but it set the stage for a much more dangerous and sophisticated slavery that you and I are subjects to. This topic should supersede every discussion about whatever “racism” means today. My parents “sold” me into slavery when I was born via uninformed consent, and I unknowingly did the same to my children.

    1. Kenly –

      I was actually a US and world history scholar up through college – even spending time overseas at Oxford in the UK; so I am VERY aware (but also realize not everyone is a history buff) of the history and context of our constitutional amendments. (Much like I’m aware we were the ONLY country to write “all men are created equal” in our founding documents, while violating it. Even the UK didn’t do that.)

      It’s concerning that we can’t even align on what racism is (I think it’s pretty straight forward), or that the enslavement of Black people here in the US (after writing “all men are created equal” on our founding documents) was wrong without you finding a way to deflect it so you’re at the center. You literally didn’t answer my question, but deflected so that at it’s about YOU being sold into slavery. (As a descendant of slaves who were sold and shuttled down to Texas, and parents who grew up during Jim Crow, this is BEYOND offensive, but I get it: we HAVE to find a way to place white people at the center or else it’s invalid.)

      I think THAT is a big part of the conversation.

  23. Marin, the time stamps on my last two responses should answer your dilemma of my silence to your questions.

    1. Just saw that: thanks for clarifying and apologies for any confusion or misunderstanding due to my oversight. :)

  24. Here is the issue I have with this seeming need to teach CRT. Just because I am Christian, just because I am white and just because I am conservative does not automatically make me a racist. Check my Facebook friends and see what you see. Surprised? My issue is that CRT assumes all of that. CRT teaches racism in a supposed effort to eliminate racism. How much sense does that make? You don’t unite people by splitting them up. Right? Doesn’t that make sense? Keep something in mind, it was the predominantly Christian, white and Republican North that won the civil war to end slavery in the USA. My great great grandfather fought battles and took a bullet to the hip in the civil war in the fight against slavery. My family had hidden rooms to hide people escaping slavery. It was Conservative Christians that voted to give woman and blacks the right to vote in the USA… I grew up in Liberia, Africa. I am an MK. I also graduated from Taylor U. Am I a racist simply because I am a white, conservative, Christian male? Stop teaching that trash. Stop reverse discriminating. Chief Justice Clarence Thomas (amazing man) wrote that racism of any kind, even if it is thought to be “good racism”, is still racism. The Declaration of Independence says, “All men are created equal. Stop teaching this CRT trash and start teaching that our savior Jesus Christ died on the cross for ALL mankind. This woman has no business teaching and promoting this hogwash at Taylor either. Start teaching the Love of God instead of this CRT trash.

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