KMBC Covers UMKC Suspension Following AIM Investigation
September 1, 2026
Community speaks out after UMKC suspends staff member over DEI discussions on campus
Abigail Klinkerman | Updated: 6:58 PM CDT Sep 1, 2026
KANSAS CITY, Mo. —A staff member at the University of Missouri Kansas City was suspended last week after a video posted online appeared to show her indicating that Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs still existed on campus.
In the video, Dr. Kim Johnson was having a conversation with a member from Accuracy in Media.
The group is a non-partisan watchdog organization whose goal is to hold people in power accountable.
Recently, the organization has executed several undercover operations on college and university campuses across the nation in an attempt to expose the existence of DEI-related initiatives and programming.
“We began investigating, and what we found is that even in states where it was explicitly prohibiting divisive diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and curriculum, the work still continues, ” said Adam Guillette, President of Accuracy in Media.
After the video was posted, UMKC responded, saying that Johnson was immediately suspended and that their campus has not housed any DEI-related programming since 2024.
Johnson is the Senior Program Manager of Student Support Services at the University of Missouri Kansas City.
You can read the rest of KMBC’s article here.