Despite pledging to eliminate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) mandates, Michigan State University (MSU) is still requiring education students to take a race-based course, according to internal documents obtained by Young Americans for Freedom (YAF).
The documents show that the course, TE 101: “Social Foundations of Justice and Equity in Education,” is a three-credit requirement for teacher preparation students.
According to the Fall 2025 syllabus, students are required to read We Want to Do More Than Survive: Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Educational Freedom by Bettina Love.
“In We Want To Do More Than Survive, Dr. Bettina L. Love brings her experiences as a Black queer educator, student, researcher, and community member to name the historical and dynamic systems of oppression that profit from the suffering of children of color,” the book’s introduction reads. “In particular, Love discusses the necessity to dismantle the educational survival complex that many students and teachers enact in order to survive the violent and harmful practices of the United States education system.”
The syllabus states that the course “explores the ways social inequalities, systems, and structures affect schooling,” according to YAF.
Love’s speaking topics include “Abolitionist Teaching,” “Anti-Racism,” and “Black Girlhood.”
Michigan State University’s 2023–2024 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Report states its mission is “to advance MSU’s diversity, equity, and inclusion strategic priorities, in partnership with and in support of executive and administrative leaders, faculty, staff, students, and alumni.”
In July, MSU publicly announced it would end DEI statements in faculty promotions, saying it would discontinue “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) statements or questions in hiring, evaluation, reappointment, promotion, tenure, or related employment processes,” according to the Lansing State Journal.
The YAF report sparked swift criticism from state leaders and political organizations.
“It’s time to get this leftwing insanity OUT of our schools. As your next Governor, I’ll do just that,” Michigan Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt wrote on X.
“Michigan State University is making future teachers take a class on the ‘evils of whiteness.’ This is taxpayer-funded race shaming. College Republicans of America condemns this divisive, anti-American indoctrination and calls for an immediate investigation,” the College Republicans of America posted on X.
The findings raise questions about whether MSU continues promoting DEI-based practices behind closed doors despite its public claims of scaling them back.
The Dallas Express reached out to MSU for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.
