Tufts University racially segregates faculty for 'Unpacking Whiteness' series

An upcoming "Dialogue Series" for faculty and staff at Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts will host two events that segregates white people from those who are "BIPOC," an acronym for "Black, Indigenous, and People of Color."

The "Radical Healing Dialogue Series" will create "an important, safe space for staff and faculty at Tufts whose racial demographics are categorized as "BIPOC." The white faculty and staff can attend "Unpacking Whiteness" where they will learn how to redistribute "power, policy, and structures to be more equitable" to the "lived experiences" of their BIPOC colleagues, according to Fox News.

The "Radical Healing Dialogue Series" will make a "safe place for those who have traditionally been marginalized due to centuries old forms of systemic and institutional oppression inherent in society."

The "Radical Healing Dialogue Series" will have eight sessions that span from October 17 to December 12. It's part of the larger "Dialogue Series" that also includes the "Unpacking Whiteness Dialogue Series." The University Office of the Chief Diversity Officer is sponsoring the Fall 2022 program.

On the program's website, a description reads, "At the heart of Radical Healing is a knowing that everyone wants to feel included, accepted, and like they belong at work, and that marginalized and oppressed people all over the world deserve to live free of discrimination, racism, and oppression."

To help attendees understand their BIPOCness, Tufts poses questions such as, "Do you believe it is important to constantly stay educated on DEIJ-topics and refine your strategies for transforming the fatigue often associated with being the only one or one of a small few?" and "Do you identify with the experience of being the only or one of a few in predominately (sic) white spaces on campus?" 

For white faculty, the session is called "Curated for White participants holding spaces of privilege." They can learn and understand to "how to practice anti-racism in their daily lives. Anti-racism is an active and ongoing process of identifying and eliminating racism by changing systems, organizational structures, policies, practices, and attitudes."

Anti-Racism, like Critical Race Theory, is a form of racial essentialism that defines individuals by their racial and ethnic identity groups and then assigns them a place within structures and hierarchies of power. 

Using these pedagogies, racial segregation has returned across America in states that include Colorado, Washington, and New York.