The nation’s largest defense contractor allegedly held a three-day training program for white male executives so they could deconstruct their “privilege” and understand how white male behavior is “devastating” to racial minorities and women, journalist Christopher Rufo reported Wednesday.
Lockheed Martin hosted “White Men As Full Diversity Partners,” a diversity-consulting firm, in 2020 to help 13 of its senior employees understand white male privilege, according to Rufo’s report.
The program was led by the consulting firm White Men As Full Diversity Partners, which specializes in helping white males “awaken together.” The participants included a former three-star general and the vice president of production for the $1.7 trillion F-35 fighter jet program. pic.twitter.com/x5YU2bBNbn
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) May 26, 2021
The session facilitators reportedly began with a “free association” exercise, which involved asking the 13 employees to list connotations for the term “white men.” The terms that were conjured up included “racist,” “privileged,” “anti-women,” “Aryan nation,” KKK,” “Founding fathers,” and “can’t jump.”
To begin, the diversity trainers led a “free association” exercise, asking the Lockheed employees to list connotations for the term “white men.” The trainers wrote down “old, racist, privileged, anti-women, angry, Aryan Nation, KKK, Founding fathers, guns, guilty, can’t jump.” pic.twitter.com/7FI7uqegJs
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) May 26, 2021
The employees reportedly said these perceptions about white men may lead to assumptions from others that white men “don’t care about diversity,” “have a classical perspective on history and colonialism,” and “don’t want to give away our power.”
Jim Morris, Mark Havens, and Michael Welp, the session facilitators, presented a prompt asking the Lockheed employees “what’s in it for white men,” the report stated. The employees said the benefits of the session included not getting “replaced by someone who is a better full diversity partner,” and an opportunity to “improve the brand, image, reputation of white men” while having a “less nagging sense of guilt that I am the problem.”
The trainers reportedly linked the “roots of white male culture” to traits including a “can-do attitude” and “hard work” which can ultimately have “devastating” effects for women and minorities.
White Men As Full Diversity Partners argues that the “roots of white male culture” include traits such as “rugged individualism,” “a can-do attitude,” “hard work,” “operating from principles,” and “striving towards success”—which are “devastating” to women and minorities. pic.twitter.com/DgeiOAJrFG
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) May 26, 2021
The trainers then reportedly worked to “deconstruct” the employees’ “white male privilege” through a series of “white privilege statements,” “male privilege statements,” and “heterosexual privilege statements.”
The 156 statements included:
“I can easily buy posters, picture books, greeting cards, dolls, and toys featuring people of my race.”
“I can commit acts of terrorism, violence or crime and not have it attributed to my race.”
“I don’t have to deal with the debilitating effects or distractions caused by ‘hot flashes’ during a critical business meeting or presentation.”
“I will never be sent to a country for work where my sexuality is punishable by death.”
“I can take and develop photos of my toddler at bath time without having my motivation questioned.”
The trainers then asked the employees to read a series of “I’m tired” statements” from people of color and women. The 79 statements included:
“I’m tired of the desire or comment to remove race — the concept that we should be ‘colorblind.’”
“I’m tired of people disparaging our campaigns (like Black Lives Matter)”
“I’m tired of trying to absorb sports statistics on ESPN while I work out just so I can converse with men at work.”
“I’m tired of not wanting to play golf.”
“I’m tired of insensitive jokes.”
In response to a request for comment, a Lockheed Martin spokesperson told the Daily Caller that it has “robust employee training programs focused on our core values of doing what is right, respecting others and performing with excellence.”
“Like many corporations, we employ multiple vendors and continuously evaluate the effectiveness of training programs to ensure they are aligned with our values, applicable laws and regulations, and incorporate employee feedback and best practices,” the statement continued.
According to Rufo, the employees who participated in the training included Aaron Huckaby, director of global supply chain operations; retired Air Force lieutenant colonel David Starr, director of the Hercules C-130 military transport program; retired Air Force lieutenant general Bruce Litchfield, vice president of sustainment operations; and Glenn Woods, vice president of production for the Air Force’s $1.7 trillion F-35 fighter jet program.
Lockheed Martin is the largest defense contractor in the world, and won $50.7 billion in federal government contracts in 2017, more than any other company, USA Today reported. The U.S. government is Lockheed Martin’s biggest customer, paying the company nearly 70% of its revenue in 2018, according to Forbes.
The company’s 60-year deal for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jet, valued at an estimated $1 trillion, was the most expensive weapons deal in Defense Department history.
“White Men As Full Diversity Partners” has previously conducted a three-day training with another government contractor. Rufo reported in August 2020 that Sandia National Laboratories, which assesses the United States’ nuclear weapons, hosted a “White Men’s Caucus on Eliminating Racism, Sexism, and Homophobia in Organizations” for its white male executives in 2019 at a luxury resort. (RELATED: Leaked Docs Show US Gov Nuclear Facility Held ‘3-Day Reeducation Camps’ For White Men)