July 13, 2026
Daymon Johnson, a Bakersfield College history professor, settled with college and district officials after he sued them over DEI requirements.
Institute for Free Speech
Bakersfield College history professor Daymon Johnson secured a settlement last week after a three-year legal battle with the college and its district over the California Community College system’s requirements for faculty related to diversity, equity, inclusion and access.
In a 2023 lawsuit, Johnson accused administrators of penalizing him and other professors for expressing conservative political and social views based on the system’s DEIA principles, including that faculty “employ teaching, learning, and professional practices that reflect DEIA and anti-racist principles” and demonstrate “proficiency in DEIA-related performance to teach, work, or lead within California community colleges.” He claimed the mandate would force him to express views he didn’t believe. Johnson is a member of the Renegade Institute for Liberty, a faculty group at Bakersfield that describes itself as dedicated to “free speech,” “free markets” and “American ideas within the broader Western tradition of meritocracy.”
