INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Senate Democratic Caucus issued the following statement Monday in response to Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith’s defense of the Three-Fifths Compromise and Gov. Mike Braun’s continued refusal to condemn Beckwith’s remarks:

“Words matter — especially when they come from those entrusted with leadership.

Lt. Gov. Beckwith’s repeated attempts to distort history, dehumanize marginalized communities and whitewash oppression are not isolated missteps. They are part of a deliberate, dangerous movement that mirrors the toxic playbook unfolding in Washington and beyond — a movement that seeks to erase truth, marginalize entire communities and dismantle the progress generations of Americans fought to achieve.

This legislative session alone has made it clear:

  • Attempts to ban discussions of systemic racism and diversity from classrooms (SB 235/SB 289)
  • The last-minute stripping of ethnic and culturally responsive education from state curriculum (HB 1002)
  • The elimination of Indiana’s Office of Equity, Inclusion and Opportunity by executive order
  • Attacks on minority scholarships and DEI initiatives
  • A systematic campaign to silence, erase and marginalize

This is not coincidence. It is not misunderstanding. It is strategy.

Lt. Gov. Beckwith’s recent comments praising the Three-Fifths Compromise as “a great move” are not just historically false. They are morally bankrupt.

No compromise that counted human beings as fractions can ever be anything but a stain on our nation’s conscience.

The Three-Fifths Compromise entrenched the enslavement of people, empowered oppression and delayed justice by generations.

Faith leaders across Indiana — many of whom have long been pillars of the civil rights movement — have publicly called on Gov. Braun to denounce Beckwith’s remarks.

The governor’s response has been silence.
And in the face of injustice, silence is not neutrality. It is complicity.

Hoosiers are speaking up. Constituents from every corner of the state have made it clear they are horrified by these words and horrified by this pattern. Yet Gov. Braun remains silent.

Who does he speak for?

Does he speak for all Hoosiers — or only a select few?
Does he represent the diverse voices of Indiana — or only those who align with this dangerous, revisionist vision of history?

Meanwhile, Lt. Gov. Beckwith has not backed down. He has doubled down.

He continues to use social media to attack faith leaders, mock civil rights advocates and push conspiracy-laden rhetoric that belittles the lived experiences of Black Hoosiers and other marginalized communities.

How can this possibly be called leadership?
Leadership is about truth.
Leadership is about courage.
Leadership is about protecting the dignity and humanity of every single person — not distorting history to justify injustice.

We proudly stand with state-wide clergy, civil rights advocates and community voices across Indiana demanding accountability.

We reject any attempt to rebrand cruelty as patriotism.
We reject any attempt to weaponize religion to excuse injustice.
We reject any attempt to erase history to serve political power.

Indiana deserves leaders who defend human dignity — not diminish it.

Leaders who unite — not divide.
Leaders who have the courage to confront injustice — not the cowardice to ignore it.

We will not stand by while history is rewritten.
We will not stand by while marginalized communities are erased.
We will not stand by while faith is weaponized for political gain.

The soul of our state — and the future of every Hoosier — demands better.

And we intend to fight for it.”