Amid the nationwide protests against racial injustice sparked by the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and many more, San Diego Unified School District is requiring that all teachers attend training sessions on white privilege as part of their rouse to become “anti-racist.”
In leaked documents obtained by journalist Christopher F. Rufo, faculty members were told by instructors that during the sessions, they will experience “guilt, anger, apathy, [as well as] closed-mindedness” due to their “white fragility.”
The training begins with “land acknowledgment,” in which the staff asked to accept that they are colonists living on land that was taken from Native Americans.
The staff also watched clips of Robin DiAngelo and Ibram Kendi. Afterward, the trainers proceeded to tell the teachers that “you are racist,” “you are upholding racist ideas, structures, and policies,” and that in the classroom, they must commit to becoming “antiracist.”
Faculty members were informed that they belong to an “oppressive white power structure, and that “white people in America hold most of the [power.” The report added that white instructors have an advantage that is “being preserved at every level of power.”
To become “antiracist” activists as insisted by the instructors and the district, teachers must “confront and examine [their] white privilege,” acknowledge when [they] feel white fragility,” and “teach others to see their privilege.” Essentially, teachers are being asked to transform their schools into “activist organizations”.
