"White consciousness" will be the topic of conversation as white staff members and administrators as well as white students at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte gather separately over the next several weeks to understand their "whiteness" and "white privilege" and engage in "anti-racist practice."
The goal, according to the event pages, is to create "racial equality." White students will meet on Sept. 27, and white staff and administrators will meet Oct. 12.
“Understanding white privilege and engaging in anti-racist practice is crucial in creating racial equity,” the event pages said. “Come join in conversation with [Office of Identity, Equity and Engagement] staff as we work toward white consciousness.”
Neither Rachael Forester, assistant director of the school’s Multicultural Resource Center, nor the IEE office responded to requests for comment, The College Fix reported.
A peer-support group at the University of Maryland at College Park, called "White Awake," ruffled a few feathers this month since it was geared to create a "safe space" for white students to discuss “interactions with racial and ethnic minorities.”
One Twitter user reacted harshly to the program: “I am ashamed over the execution of white awake nor do I fully understand its clause[,] ‘How they can fit into a diverse world?’ Why do they need to attend therapy sessions on how to be a decent human being in society? Why do they need to have these sessions to learn how to coexist?”
The College Fix said the school changed the name of the program and the white focus following media attention, saying the counseling center “did not choose the right words in raising awareness about this research-based initiative.”
The new name is the “Anti-Racism and Ally Building Group," WTTG-TV reported.
