University of Minnesota program offers guidelines to ‘reverse the whiteness pandemic’

The University of Minnesota has a initiative that warns about a ‘whiteness pandemic’ and gives parents and educators strategies on how to ‘halt and reverse’ it.

The university’s culture and family life lab, which is contained in the Institute of Child Development, defines this so-called pandemic as ‘the centuries-old culture of Whiteness’ that ‘features colorblindness, passivity, and White fragility, which are all covert expressions of racism common in the United States’.

Four academics at the university were responsible for writing and sourcing the page on the white pandemic, which they argue is ‘lurking behind and driving’ the already existent ‘racism pandemic’.

The online article serves as a summary of a paper Dr. Gail Ferguson, the director of the culture and family life lab, wrote on the whiteness pandemic in 2021. The paper was motivated in part by the murder of George Floyd a year earlier, Ferguson said.

‘If you were born or raised in the United States, you have grown up in the Whiteness Pandemic, and you can play a role in halting and reversing this pandemic, especially if you are White because of the power and privilege you hold in this racialized society,’ wrote Ferguson and her colleagues.

‘If you were socialized into the culture of Whiteness during childhood it is not your fault, but as an adult it is now your responsibility to self-reflect, re-educate yourself, and act,’ they continued.

‘If you are a White adult, antiracist action involves an ongoing process of self-reflection in order to develop a healthy positive White identity while engaging in courageous antiracist parenting/caregiving.’

They also argued that talking with children about ‘race, racism, and antiracism’ is crucial in them developing a ‘healthy white racial identity’.

Dr. Gail Ferguson, the director of the culture and family life lab at the University of Minnesota, is the one who coined the concept of a ‘whiteness pandemic’

Ferguson says that white people hold the power and privilege in America, which she argues gives them a greater responsibility to combat racism than other groups

Ferguson wrote a paper in 2021 about the whiteness pandemic and the webpage that summarizes it and gives tip on how to stop it has gone viral online. Critics say it should be removed (Pictured: The University of Minnesota campus in April 2019)

‘Young children perceive much more than we usually realize, and when parents, teachers, and other adults are silent around race it communicates apathy or approval of racism although this may be the opposite of what adults intend,’ the authors wrote.

The webpage included dozens of links to literature from by people like Ibram X. Kendi, an anti-racist historian, and Robin DiAngelo, who is known for giving anti-racism trainings at companies.

The webpage has been up since at least December 2021, but there has been renewed scrutiny since parents rights’ watchdog Defending Education released a report on it Tuesday.

Richard W. Painter, a White House ethics lawyer under George W. Bush from 2005 to 2007, called the article itself ‘racist’ in a social media post.

‘I have requested that this racist website be removed. It is also a violation of [the University of Minnesota] Board of Regents policy on institutional neutrality,’ wrote Painter, who is a faculty member at the university.

‘This is the website,’ he wrote in another post, linking to it. ‘ [It is] a clear violation of Title VI and other laws guaranteeing equal protection to people of all races. It is not our business as a public university to tell parents of any race how to educate their children.’

Libs of TikTok, a popular right-wing account run by Chaya Raichik, put up a post railing against the website as well.

She tagged Harmeet Dhillon, the head civil rights lawyer at the Department of Justice. Dhillon has launched investigations into DEI and affirmative action policies at universities and other public institutions.

A spokesperson for the university told the Daily Mail that the university is ‘steadfast in its commitment to the principles of academic freedom.’