Posted on December 26, 2022

North Carolina Professor Was Fired for Criticizing Critical Race Theory: Lawsuit

Jeremiah Poff, Washington Examiner, December 22, 2022

A professor is suing the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction after he was allegedly fired for criticizing critical race theory while teaching at a state-organized summer program for incoming high school seniors.

The lawsuit, filed by the conservative free speech law group the Alliance Defending Freedom, says David Phillips, an English professor from North Carolina, was abruptly fired from his summer teaching job at the Governor’s School, a four-week program for high-performing high school seniors in North Carolina after he openly criticized critical race theory.

{snip} On June 28, 2021, at the conclusion of an optional seminar on viewpoint diversity in higher education where Phillips noted that the presence of critical race theory and other similar ideas contributed greatly to a culture of monolithic thought, audience members peppered the professor with questions and criticized him for objecting to progressive ideas on race and culture.

The lawsuit says that Phillips “calmly” responded to questions for more than an hour {snip}

But the next day, Phillips was summoned by the administration of the Governor’s School and promptly fired. {snip}

{snip}