Faculty offered cash to study how 'whiteness' can be 'eradicated' as part of anti-racism training

Faculty at California State University East Bay are being offered cash incentives to undergo anti-racism professional development training — to the tune of $1,200, the College Fix reported.

What are the details?

The stipends are for professors and instructors who attend the "Anti-Racist Liberatory Pedagogy Academy" next month, the outlet said.

The brochure from professor G.T. Reyes says critical race theory is "a race-conscious framework that examines the ways that whiteness is normalized in our country and in our University," the College Fix noted.

"Critical Race Theory takes an intersectional approach to interrogating race and racism in the United States," the info sheet also said, according to the outlet, adding that participants will study how they can "also aim towards liberatory conditions where whiteness has been eradicated."

Reyes did not respond to a College Fix email last week that asked for a definition of "whiteness" and how many professors were enrolled in the training.

Payment and training

"Participants will receive a $600 participant stipend for completion of the summer portion and a second $600 stipend for the completion of the follow up work through the Spring semester," professor Michael Lee wrote in a May promotional email the outlet said it reviewed.

Lee — a seminar committee member — also did not respond to requests for comment from the College Fix, which said it asked him for an explanation on "whiteness."

Workshop attendees will learn how to "incorporate anti-racist and culturally responsive components and approaches" into at least one syllabus for the fall semester, the outlet said, adding that participants will develop their courses in a way "designed to meet anti-racism objectives and promote inclusive and equitable learning."

'Sacred responsibility'

Cal State East Bay faculty have a "sacred responsibility" to learn about these topics, the College Fix said, citing the brochure.

"We hold the sacred responsibility to support the growth and nurturing of the human Condition," the brochure said, according to the outlet. "We cannot take that responsibility lightly or for granted, especially as the continuous physical, psychological, and intellectual assaults on our collective humanity persist to heights that some of us, particularly our students, have never seen before."

Anything else?

The College Fix said another professor on the academy's committee, Kim Geron, also didn't respond to requests for comment. The outlet said it emailed Geron twice in the last month asking if there had been widespread cases of racism with respect to professors' attitudes or teaching styles that warrant this program.