A professor at the University of North Texas is suing the school after it took action against him for publishing a series of articles rejecting the idea that Music theory is a product of white supremacy.
The lawsuit alleges that the University of North Texas violated Timothy Jackson’s First and Fourteenth Amendment rights by removing him from the academic journal he co-established after he wrote and shared a series of works that students and faculty found to be ‘racist.’
The university punished Jackson, 64, after he organized a symposium that raised a variety of opinions on a speech by Hunter College of the City University of New York professor Philip Ewell, called ‘Music Theory’s White Racial Frame.’
In his speech, and in his work published after the speech, Ewell argued that music theory is ‘White’ and raised how he feels uncomfortable as a black man that most music theory professors at higher-educational institutions.
Ewell also condemned Galician-born Austrian and Jewish music theorist, Heinrich Schenker – whose writings have had a profound influence on subsequent musical analysis – as ‘an ardent racist and German nationalist’ and claimed that ‘our white racial frame seeks to shield Schenker from unwanted criticism.’
Schenker, who died in 1935, suffered persecution at the hands of the Nazis, with Ewell’s insistence that he was racist sparking fury.
Timothy Jackson, a music professor at the University of North Texas, has filed a lawsuit against the school for infringing on his First Amendment right to free speech after it removed him from a publication he founded
Professor Philip Ewell has complained that music theory is ‘white’ and that there isn’t enough diversity within the field of music theory
The University of North Texas’ action stems from an incident in November 2019 in which Philip Ewell, a professor at Hunter College of the City University of New York delivered a speech entitled ‘Music Theory’s White Racial Frame’ at the Society for Music Theory
After Ewell’s essay was published, Jackson sought to organize a symposium with the Journal of Schenkerian Studies that he co-founded at UNT and called on members of the Society for Music to come up with responses to the essay.
Those responses were published in July 2020 and raised different opinions, both in favor and disapproving Ewell’s speech.
Jackson’s letter was tailored against Ewell’s paper on several talking points. It also defended Schenker as a victim of antisemitism by raising the argument that the composer had been oppressed for being Jewish while living in Nazi Germany.
Jackson also rejected claims that music theory field is racist and offered to explain that African American women and men don’t typically ‘grow up in homes where classical music is profoundly valued, and therefore they lack the necessary background.’
After the symposium was made known to the greater public, supporters of Ewell began putting pressure on UNT, calling on the school to fire Jackson, as well as at least 18 faculty members and several grad students.
Jackson’s lawsuit alleges that the university issued a statement, saying that it opened a formal investigation into the professor’s journal and UNT Press.
Jackson was then informed by UNT Provost Jennifer Cowley to come up with a new plan on how to address a report from an ad hoc panel outlining problems with his actions. However, a week prior to the deadline he was given, he found out that he had been removed from the journal and that the university would half any funding going towards his work and the Center for Schenkerian Studies.
Heinrich Schenker was a music theorist, music critic, teacher, pianist, and composer. He is best known for his approach to musical analysis, now usually called Schenkerian analysis. Schenker’s views on race have come under scrutiny and criticism in the wake of international protests against racism in 2020
Jackson wrote a letter in response to Ewell’s accusations on Schenker, defending the 20th century music composer as he described him as a victim of antisemitism from the Nazis during World War Two
In the lawsuit, Jackson is asking the school to publicly state that it had infringed his First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. He submitted a request, asking for the Board of Regents to not be able to take action against him, and a request for damages.
‘Timothy Jackson’s goals have been consistent from the beginning, and that is to express academic freedom without fear of retaliation from those who disagree,’ Michael Thad Allen, Jackson’s lead attorney, told Campus Reform.
‘UNT has failed to protect these rights and has allowed this situation to progress, forcing Jackson to file this suit.’
In a statement, the University of North Texas said that federal court is ‘not the place’ for ‘baseless allegations.’
‘The defendants have formally notified the court of appeals that we are appealing the district court’s decision to deny our motion to dismiss,’ a spokesperson for the school said. ‘Dr. Jackson’s faculty colleagues have not harmed him in any way, and federal court is not the place to try the plaintiff’s baseless allegations against them. Further, neither the Board of Regents nor the university have taken any adverse action against Dr. Jackson.’
The statement concluded with, ‘We will raise these points to the federal appeals court. Meanwhile, we have filed a motion asking the trial judge to stop all activity in the district court until the parties receive a ruling on the appeal.’
