In this Jonathan Turley article, Penn State Dickinson Law’s mandatory anti-racism course is drawing criticism from those who argue it crosses the line from legal education into ideological conformity.
- Penn State’s internal “Strategic Plan Update” reportedly commits the university to anti-racist principles, including “antiracist critical pedagogy.”
- The controversy centers on Dickinson Law’s mandatory first-year course, “Race and the Equal Protection of the Laws,” known as REPL.
- Penn State materials describe REPL as a required course that uses critical theory and critical pedagogy to change how students understand their role in American democracy.
- Dickinson Law Dean Danielle Conway has said the course teaches constitutional democracy “through the lens of enslavement and racism.”
- Turley notes that a circulating audio recording, reported by Aaron Sibarium of the Washington Free Beacon, allegedly captures law school officials describing the course as a foundation for dismantling oppressive systems.
- According to Turley, one professor allegedly told students the course is “not elective, not optional,” tying anti-racism obligations directly to what it means to be a lawyer.
- Critics argue the course sounds less like open legal inquiry and more like mandated political instruction, especially because students must complete it to graduate.
- Turley distinguishes between teaching about discrimination in law, which he supports, and requiring students to accept broad ideological claims about white supremacy, patriarchy, and systemic oppression.
- The article frames the dispute as another example of the growing tension between professional education and activist orthodoxy inside American universities.
Read the full story: https://jonathanturley.org/2026/05/16/teach-through-the-lens-of-enslavement-and-racism-penn-states-anti-racism-course-draws-criticism/
