A San Diego public school district is reportedly requiring teachers to attend “white privilege” trainings where they are expected to recognize their roles in perpetuating racism, Discovery Institute scholar Christopher Rufo reported.
The training reportedly took place within the San Diego Unified School Districts (SDUSD) in California, which includes more than 100 schools. The training began with a slide on “land acknowledgment,” which prompts teachers to acknowledge that “we meet on stolen land, taken from Indigenous people.”
SCOOP: San Diego Unified School District is forcing teachers to attend “white privilege” training, in which teachers are told “you are racist” and “you are upholding racist ideas, structures, and policies.”
The leaked documents from the training session will shock you.????
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) December 3, 2020
“I am speaking to you from Kumeyaay land. We must acknowledge the hidden history of violence against Indigenous peoples in an effort to move towards justice,” the slide says, according to Rufo.
The training begins with a “land acknowledgement,” in which the teachers are asked to accept that they are colonizers living on stolen Native American land. Then they are told they will experience “guilt, anger, apathy, [and] closed-mindedness” because of their “white fragility.” pic.twitter.com/meUO3GiXNu
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) December 3, 2020
The next slide is a list of “norms and agreements,” which include instructions to “speak your truth and listen to others truths” and “expect to experience discomfort.” It also says to “be explicit about race and racism (avoid and point out coded language).”
After watching clips of Robin DiAngelo and Ibram Kendi, the trainers tell the teachers: “you are racist,” “you are upholding racist ideas, structures, and policies,” and that they must commit to becoming “antiracist” in the classroom. They must submit to the new racial orthodoxy. pic.twitter.com/EEFNc0H1em
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) December 3, 2020
The teachers are then instructed to watch videos of Robin DiAngelo and Ibram Kendi, according to Rufo. Robin DiAngelo is renowned in social justice circles for crafting the “white privilege checklist” and for coining the term “white fragility.” Kendi is the founding director of The Antiracist Research and Policy Center at American University and has written several books, including “How To Be An Antiracist.”
After watching the clips, trainers are show a slide that says “You are Racist,” and then prompt the teachers to think about what they would say if someone said this to them. Similarly on the next slide, the teachers are prompted to consider what they would say and feel if someone told them they “are upholding racist ideas, structures, and policies.”
After watching clips of Robin DiAngelo and Ibram Kendi, the trainers tell the teachers: “you are racist,” “you are upholding racist ideas, structures, and policies,” and that they must commit to becoming “antiracist” in the classroom. They must submit to the new racial orthodoxy. pic.twitter.com/EEFNc0H1em
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) December 3, 2020
DiAngelo, who is white, charges steep speaking fees at universities, and has charged the University of Kentucky $12,000, excluding travel expenses and other costs, for a two-hour racial justice speech.
A slide titled “White Privilege and Culture” then informs teachers that “white people in America hold most of the political, institutional, and economic power,” thus benefiting from advantages that non-white people don’t, according to Rufo.
Trainers then tell the teachers that their ability to “thrive” in the country is “preserved at every level of power” with no required effort on their part, which includes the lack of need to vote. A list of public offices, wealth rankings, academic positions, and entertainment roles are shown with the percentage of white people that occupy the respective categories. For example, from 2016-2017, according to the slide, 82% of teachers are white, and within the San Diego Unified School District, 63% are white.
The teachers are told that they are part of an oppressive white power structure. The trainers claim that “white people in America hold most of the [power]” and that white teachers have an “ability to thrive” that is “being preserved at every level of power.” pic.twitter.com/NMTpiyb6Ws
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) December 3, 2020
Using language from Kendi’s book, the final slide defines what it means to be an “antiracist” vs. a “racist.”
Finally, teachers are told they must become “antiracist” activists. They must “confront and examine [their] white privilege,” “acknowledge when [they] feel white fragility,” and “teach others to see their privilege.” They must turn their schools into activist organizations. pic.twitter.com/1KaJobp5Km
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) December 3, 2020
SDUSD did not respond to the Daily Caller’s request for comment.
Kendi has compared people who protested against the coronavirus stay-at-home orders slaveholders, who he said also fought for “individual freedom.”
Kendi has also promoted the idea of amending the U.S. constitution to “establish and permanently fund the Department of Anti-racism (DOA) composed of formally trained experts on racism.” The department “would be responsible for preclearing all local, state and federal public policies to ensure they won’t yield racial inequity.” (RELATED: Jack Dorsey Donates $10 Million To A Group Headed By An Activist Who Wants To Make Racism Unconstitutional)