A banner displaying the message "Black Lives Matter" is pictured on a walkway over Michigan Street at IUPUI's campus on April 21, 2022. (Credit: Liz Kaye/Indiana University Indianapolis University Library Special Collections and Archives)
IU Indianapolis recently removed two prominent signs that read “Black Lives Matter” and “Discrimination has no place here” from its downtown campus.
The banners were displayed on the exterior of a skywalk at the intersection of West Michigan Street and Blake Street.
Though it’s not clear when nor why the signs were removed, it appears to be part of IU’s efforts to comply with federal and state guidance surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion. The climate surrounding DEI has shifted drastically from just a few years ago, when IU and other universities made pledges to fight racism following the murder of George Floyd.
Last week, the university announced it would close its system-wide DEI office. It has also shuttered the Indianapolis DEI division’s website.
The university did not specifically cite an executive order or statute that prompted the closure, just that the decision was made to “further ensure compliance” with state and federal guidelines around DEI. Across the country, universities in states including Ohio and North Carolina have taken similar steps over the last year as DEI has attracted scrutiny from lawmakers and system leaders.
Get the backstory: Indiana University closes DEI office amid political pressure
Last month, Indiana’s Republican supermajority passed a law banning many diversity, equity and inclusion policies in state government and public institutions — though it did not explicitly prohibit DEI departments. President Donald Trump’s administration has also been pressuring colleges to end DEI policies by threatening funding.
IU’s efforts to appease state and federal governments received positive reviews from Lt Gov. Micah Beckwith, a socially conservative pastor who praised the university’s decision to end what he called “bloated DEI bureaucracy” in a May 25 tweet.
“Let’s keep dismantling the ivory-tower echo chambers and replace them with a culture that rewards hard work and celebrates individual achievement,” Beckwith wrote. “Proud to see IU lead the charge!”
But for IU Indianapolis student Lakyah Berry, IU taking down the Black Lives Matter sign forces her to consider whether the university’s commitment to antiracism was ever genuine.
“It's like, ‘okay, well, did it ever matter?’” Berry, an incoming junior, said. “If it's so easy to take it down, just because the guy in the Oval Office said to, did any of these things ever really matter?”
IU’s announcement about closing the DEI office is the culmination of months of quiet action behind the scenes to rename programs and remove web pages that referenced diversity, equity and inclusion.
In February, the university abruptly closed an equity research center at IU Indianapolis after the U.S. Department of Education revoked its funding. And, the IU School of Medicine has recently removed and edited dozens of DEI-related web pages in response to a Trump administration order. The National Institutes of Health now requires schools that receive NIH funding to certify they don’t run programs that promote “discriminatory equity ideology.”
IU spokesperson Mark Bode did not respond to Mirror Indy's request for comment nor to emailed questions about why the “Black Lives Matter” sign was removed and whether IU is continuing its commitment to racial justice as university leaders pledged in 2020.
Getting rid of the anti-discrimination and “Black Lives Matter” messaging would appear to be in stark contrast with IU’s promises to address racism and combat injustice after Minneapolis police officers murdered Floyd in 2020 by kneeling on his neck.
The university, back then called IUPUI, installed the skyway signs in August 2020 to signify its commitment to inclusivity, according to an IU news story from the time. The university’s efforts included new programs, guest speakers and readings, as well as “cosmetic changes” such as the Michigan Street banners and a “Black Lives Matter” mural displayed on Indiana Avenue from August 2020 to October 2021.
The signs were removed briefly in 2022. IU marketing told IUPUI student government the removal was due to an administrative oversight, according to an Instagram post. But aside from that, the banners have remained in place for nearly five years, even as IU updated much of its signage and branding ahead of IUPUI’s split into IU Indianapolis and Purdue in Indianapolis last year.
This article first appeared on Mirror Indy and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
