Phillips v. North Carolina Department of Public Instruction

Summary

North Carolina Governor’s School fired a well-respected English professor, Dr. David Phillips, after he spoke out about the harms of the racially divisive ideology embraced by the school. For years, Dr. Phillips had spoken out against the school’s increasing adoption of critical theory, an ideology that views everyone and everything through the lens of characteristics like race, sex, and religion, labeling people as perpetual oppressors or victims based on group membership alone. After Dr. Phillips delivered three optional seminars critiquing critical theory and the increasing bias and lack of viewpoint diversity in higher education, North Carolina public school officials fired him mid-session without any explanation.