They Mad: University Of Minnesota Initiative To ‘Reverse Whiteness Pandemic’ Sparks Outrage
Source: Kirby Lee / Getty
The truth hurts, hit dogs will holler, if it don’t apply, let it fly, if the shoe fits, wear it, and any other colloquialism that you can think of applies to this story.
According to theDaily Mail,a new initiative at the University of Minnesota has white folks roarin’ mad, but four of the school’s Black academics are standing on business and making it plain. The Institute of Child Development’s culture and family life lab posits that there is a “whiteness pandemic” that is defined as “centuries-old culture…that features colorblindness, passivity, and White fragility, which are all covert expressions of racism common in the United States”. The program aims to “reverse” whiteness through a series of teachings and instructions that speak directly to teachers and families.
The page is a summary of a 2021 George Floyd-inspired work from Dr. Gail Ferguson that unflinchingly addresses what it means to be white and how one becomes it.
“If you were born or raised in the United States, you have grown up in the Whiteness Pandemic, and you can play a role in halting and reversing this pandemic, especially if you are White because of the power and privilege you hold in this racialized society,” wrote Ferguson and her colleagues.
“If you were socialized into the culture of Whiteness during childhood it is not your fault, but as an adult it is now your responsibility to self-reflect, re-educate yourself, and act,” they continued.
Former White-House-ethics-lawyer-turned-UM-faculty-member Richard W. Painter is outraged.
“I have requested that this racist website be removed. It is also a violation of [the University of Minnesota] Board of Regents policy on institutional neutrality,” wrote Painter, who is a faculty member at the university.
“This is the website,’ he wrote in another post, linking to it. ‘ [It is] a clear violation of Title VI and other laws guaranteeing equal protection to people of all races. It is not our business as a public university to tell parents of any race how to educate their children.”
If white kids can’t be taught about whiteness at school or at home, then someone in the streets will teach them. This is a much safer way, trust us.
