5 Things to Know: AAUP Defends UNC Charlotte Staffer Fired for DEI Conversation
...and four more stories from May 25-31, 2025
AAUP Defends UNC Charlotte Staffer Fired for DEI Conversation
The UNC Charlotte chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) is speaking up in support of a university employee who was forced out of her position this week after a right-wing group recorded her discussing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) strategies.
Janique Sanders, assistant director of the Leadership & Community Engagement office at UNC Charlotte, was fired after a group called Accuracy in Media (AIM) recorded her speaking about ways to work around the DEI ban, saying that there were “covert … opportunities” to continue doing the work for those willing to “finesse” the language around it.
AIM, a nonprofit that claims to use “investigative journalism and cultural activism to expose corruption and hold bad public policy actors accountable,” released the video on Wednesday and UNC Charlotte responded the next day, announcing that Sanders’ statements were “inaccurate and do not reflect the University’s actions.”
“The individual featured in the video had no policymaking authority, no role in compliance matters and was not authorized to speak on these matters,” the statement continued. “Following an internal review, the individual is no longer employed by UNC Charlotte.”
UNC Charlotte disbanded three DEI offices last summer after the UNC System Board of Governors voted to disband all such offices and ordered school officials throughout the system to cut any spending or positions related to DEI.
A statement from the AAUP on Saturday condemned the school’s handling of the situation, calling Sanders’ firing an “unjust termination.”
Pointing out that AIM has carried out similar acts of “harassment and intimidation” at six other UNC institutions, the AAUP statement reads: “Attacks on DEI are part of a larger and dangerous political movement aiming to scapegoat public education and universities for societal ills, and to shred fundamental and civil rights won through generations of struggle.”
“DEI is not about teaching students that they are ‘bad’ or ‘good’ because of their identity. It stands for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion — and is about exactly that!” the statement continued. “DEI means making sure that buildings are accessible for everyone to enter, for example, having a wheelchair ramp and elevators in addition to stairs. DEI is about teaching students to learn about the past — the ugly and the beautiful — so that we can stop repeating history. DEI is about learning to understand that people have different life experiences and to listen to and learn from one another.
“What these attacks do is obscure the true meaning of DEI and re-package it into inaccurate soundbites. And so, as educators, we must speak out and fight back against these assaults that harm the very foundations on which the university purports to stand.”
Ardrey Kell Principle Resigns Amid Continued Controversy
Just weeks after being suspended with pay, Ardrey Kell High School principal Jamie Brooks announced her retirement on Thursday, effective Sunday.
Brooks started as an assistant principal at the school in 2007 and became principal in 2020, replacing principal David Switzer, who was under investigation at the time for unspecified “allegations.”
Brooks was suspended on May 2. At the time of this writing, school officials have provided no information to parents, students or staff about the reasons for Brooks’ suspension. She has been a top administrator during a number of controversial incidents at the school ranging from the beating of a girl student by a boy student earlier this year to racist remarks made by members of the basketball team in 2019 and the vandalism of a Black Lives Matter mural in 2020.
The family of the boy involved in the assault incident earlier this year also filed a lawsuit this week claiming that the girl started the fight between the two — both of whom were 15 at the time — and that all allegations of a hate crime against his Muslim classmate are false.
The lawsuit claims that the girl punched the boy after he called her a “bitch” twice. The boy reportedly broke multiple bones in the girl’s face while the boy was not reported to suffer any injuries.
Franks House to be Honored with Marker
The Mecklenburg County Historic Landmarks Department, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission, and United House of Prayer will unveil a historic marker recognizing the Franks House in Third Ward on Saturday, June 7, the county announced this week.
The historic marker will be unveiled at its permanent home in front of the United House of Prayer, located at 1019 S. Mint St., followed by remarks from Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners Chair Mark Jerrell and performances by the United House of Prayer’s brass band, Horns of Glory.
The unassuming abode located behind the church at 305 Dunbar Street is a rare surviving artifact of the thriving Black community that once existed in Third Ward. Built in 1917 and bought in 1949 by Arthur and Bessie Franks, the bungalow was a gathering place for family and friends on Sunday afternoons when crowds of up to 50 would gather after church.
One of the few Black-owned homes in the ward in the 1950s and ’60s, the property remained in possession of the Franks family for more than 60 years and was designated a historic landmark in 2022.
Trump Admin Sues State BOE
The Trump administration on Tuesday filed suit against the NC State Board of Elections, asking that a federal court give elections officials 30 days to address and correct missing information within its voter registration database that served as the basis for Judge Jefferson Griffin’s recently failed challenge to his loss in the state Supreme Court race.
“Republicans, who now control the state elections in North Carolina and are on track [to] control all county elections boards starting June 25, were already mulling such action,” wrote independent NCGA reporter Bryan Anderson.
“The lawsuit now stands to give state officials extra cover to do what they had already intended. Democrats, meanwhile, will almost assuredly object to the lawsuit.”
Chief Jennings Set to Retire
Michael Graff broke the news on Sunday that CMPD Chief Johnny Jennings plans to retire at the end of the year, partnering with The Assembly to also publish the details of Jennings’ recent settlement with the city.
The deal is part of a “separation agreement” that totals $305,000 and includes $25,000 for costs he incurred in his dispute with former council member Tariq Bokhari, including legal fees; a 5% merit increase for 2025, retroactive to January 1, totaling $14,017; an additional 40 vacation days, valued at $45,284, to use at his discretion or be paid for the rollover; a retention bonus of $45,699, paid in two installments, to stay through the end of the year while the city searches for his replacement; and severance of $175,000, to be paid in January 2026.
