Temple University: Professor Facing Investigation for Pro-Palestinian Speech

Temple University professor Marc Lamont Hill gave a speech before a committee organized by the United Nations in which he said “[w]e have an opportunity to not just offer solidarity in words but to commit to political action, grass-roots action, local action and international action that will give us what justice requires and that is a free Palestine from the river to the sea.” Critics called on Temple University to terminate his employment. Although Temple initially recognized Hill’s First Amendment rights, the chairman of Temple University’s board of trustees told media that Hill had engaged in “hate speech” and that he was directing the university’s legal team to “look at what remedies” were available to punish Hill. FIRE wrote to Temple University president Richard M. Englert on December 3, 2018, over concerns that the university intended to investigate or punish professor Marc Lamont Hill. At a December 11 Board of Trustees, Englert announced that Hill would not be investigated or punished despite demands to the contrary.