Indiana University lecturer removed after calling MAGA 'covert white supremacy' during presentation

Indiana University (IU) has removed lecturer Jessica Adams, who taught a course on "Diversity, Human Rights, and Social Justice," pending an investigation into a student complaint. The probe stems from Adams' use of a controversial graphic titled "pyramid of white supremacy" that labeled "Make America Great Again" (MAGA) as a form of white supremacy on par with "police murdering people of color."

A student alerted Republican Senator Jim Banks' office to the matter, which resulted in the college administration removing Adams from her post out of an "abundance of caution." She is still allowed to teach her other classes as the investigation proceeds, WFYI reported.

Adams presented the graphic during a lesson on oppression and power dynamics, describing MAGA as "covert white supremacy," which means it has been made socially acceptable. MAGA is listed alongside other examples, such as hiring discrimination, police murdering people of color, and racial profiling — just beneath lynching, hate crimes, swastikas, and the KKK (Ku Klux Klan), which are listed as examples of "overt (unacceptable) white supremacy."




The complaint alleges Adams violated Senate Enrolled Act 202, a 2024 state law requiring faculty to foster "free inquiry, free expression, and intellectual diversity" without injecting unrelated political views. Violations can lead to demotion or termination.

Adams and the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) IU chapter decry the removal as due process violations and "over-compliance" with SEA 202. At a November 7 press conference, Adams claimed that School of Social Work Dean Kalea Benner became the "primary complainant" after an initial meeting, per the Indiana Daily Student.

The law was passed as a means to hold teachers accountable for ideological bias in taxpayer-funded classrooms. SEA 202 empowers students to report instances of perceived indoctrination. This marks one of the first high-profile removals under the statute, following an earlier removal of a Germanic studies professor for anti-Israel remarks.