Whistleblower documents: Walmart's critical race theory training teaches employees that America is a 'white supremacy system'

Walmart has a critical race theory training program that teaches employees that America is a "white supremacy system," according to internal documents from a whistleblower. The training program also reportedly singles out white employees, claiming they are guilty of "white supremacy thinking" and "internalized racial superiority."

Starting in 2018, Walmart began a partnership with Racial Equity Institute — a self-described "alliance of trainers, organizers, and institutional leaders who have devoted ourselves to the work of creating racially equitable organizations and systems." REI is a "multiracial team of organizers and trainers who are committed to the work of anti-racism transformation."

REI offers racial equity training through a two-day workshop. The racial equity workshops cost $20,000 for corporations, $15,000 for an institution, and $12,000 for a community. "The virtual presentation is capped at a firm 35 participants to maximize engagement," REI states.

Journalist Christopher F. Rufo published documents provided to him by a whistleblower pertaining to the Racial Equity Institute training given to Walmart employees. The CRT training was reportedly administered to over 1,000 Walmart employees. The "anti-racist" program is purportedly mandatory for Walmart executives and recommended for hourly wage workers.

The document from Walmart's "Culture, Diversity, and Inclusion" office thanks employees for participating in a "powerful and thought provoking two-day training facilitated by experts from the Racial Equity Institute (REI)."

"The program begins with the claim that the United States is a 'white supremacy system,' designed by white Europeans 'for the purpose of assigning and maintaining white skin access to power and privilege,'" Rufo wrote in City Journal. "American history is presented as a long sequence of oppressions, from the 'construction of a white race' by colonists in 1680 to President Obama's stimulus legislation in 2009, 'another race neutral act that has disproportionately benefited white people.'"

The training, which is dated October 2019, lists "characteristics of white supremacy culture" that include "worship of the written word," "individualism," "paternalism," "objectivity," "defensiveness," and "right to comfort."

Walmart's CRT training claims that white people are guilty of "internalized racial superiority," while minorities suffer from "internalized racial inferiority." Minorities are also constrained by "constructed racist oppression," "lowered expectations," and "very limited choices," according to the leaked internal documents.

The "anti-racism" program features a "ladder of empowerment for white people" that instructs white Walmart employees that ideas of "we're all the same" and "I am not the problem" are racist constructs. The CRT training tells white people to accept their "guilt and shame," and take on the belief that "white is not right." To climb the top of the anti-racist ladder, white people need to take "collective action" and achieve a "community of resistance."

A Walmart spokesperson told Rufo that the company has "engaged REI for a number of training sessions since 2018" and has "found these sessions to be thought provoking and constructive."

In May, Rufo published whistleblower documents that claimed Disney asked employees to complete a "white privilege checklist," and training that says America was founded on "systemic racism." Disney disputed Rufo's reporting, claiming the accusations "deliberately distorted" the company's policies.

In August, Rufo shared leaked internal documents from Verizon exposing a "Conscious Inclusion & Anti-Racism" training module. The training includes topics such as "institutional racism," "microaggressions," "microinequity," and "intersectionality."