The training materials were sent by a whistleblower to Director of the Center of Wealth & Poverty Christopher Rufo, who is also the contributing editor of City Journal. Rufo produced a Twitter thread to disseminate what he found, calling the training documents "deeply disturbing - and an affront to equality."
The training, called "Difficult Conversations about Race," is aimed at white employees at the Treasury Department, Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and National Credit Union Administration, Rufo tweeted. The goal of the training, he wrote, is to convert "everyone in the federal government" to "antiracism."
The way the training sets out to achieve this goal, however, appears similar to Rufo's last document analysis about Seattle's "Interrupting Internalized Racial Superiority and Whiteness" training, which basically consisted of trainers telling white people they were racist.
The Treasury training is hardly different, with trainers insisting "white employees must 'struggle to own their racism' and accept their 'unconscious bias, White privilege, and White fragility," Rufo wrote on Twitter.
"Next, the trainers recommend 'White managers' create 'safe spaces' for 'listening sessions,' where black employees can explain 'what it means to be Black' and be 'seen in their pain.' White employees must not 'fill the silence with [their] own thoughts and feelings,'" Rufo tweeted.
The training also stereotypes white people by claiming they hold "fairly consistent narratives about race." Those narratives, such as "we've made so much progress from the 60's" and suggesting people "talk about how much we have in common," the training insists, are racist and "don't support the dismantling of racist institutions."
Comment: Gaslighting- the truth of the matter is, progress has been made since the '60s and to state that fact is not racist.
In another section of the training highlighted by Rufo, white employees are told to think about how racially diverse their everyday lives are, including asking questions such as "Who are your ten closest friends? What is the racial mix in this group?"
Comment: Do they want people to have a "token black guy" friend just to boost their diversity and wokeness? Choosing a friend based on their color rather than their personal qualities sounds pretty racist.
"As you move through the day, what's the racial composition of the people around you? On your commute? At the coffee shop you go to? At the gym? At your workplace? At the show you go on the weekend?" asks another section.
Comment: As Frank Furedi said:
"Unfortunately, whatever their intention, these race entrepreneurs are complicit in racializing everything. Their programme of race humiliation will do nothing to undermine real racism. Worse still, by attempting to re-create a "fairer" form of racial hierarchy they undermine the possibility of genuine solidarity."
The training also asks white employees to "[n]otice how much of your day you are speaking about racism."
Comment: For the large majority it will probably be little to no time spent on this topic because they are more concerned with getting on with their lives and providing for their families.
"Who are you engaging with on these issues? Who are you not? Why do you think this is?" the training asks.
Later, the training demands white employees "Provide unconditional solidarity" with people of color. "Your allyship is not a favor that you can retract when some [sic] responds to their oppression in a way you don't like," the training says.
Further, white employees are told that "white silence has been one of the most powerful detractors from real progress in social justice," and that they must "sit in the discomfort" of being lectured about "whiteness," "racism," "white supremacy," and "allyship."
The kicker for all this? The training was developed and is being taught by a white man who has made millions of dollars selling his training to the federal government.
Rufo also provided a link to all the documents he received.
I use psychological terms to ward off fears of inadequacy, much like this race guru. There, I've made it conscious.
"White privilege and white fragility"
I don't know what's white about it, but I as any person must have gratitude for the privileges I and they have been given. Some include being alive and having the opportunity to educate ourselves, express ourselves. And, naturally, it is prudent to note our vulnerabilities.
"White employees must not 'fill the silence with [their] own thoughts and feelings" the racist says. Instead, the merits of any idea should be determined without coupling it to a person's skin color.
"Who are your ten closest friends? What is the racial mix in this group? ... As you move through the day, what's the racial composition of the people around you?" Now forget that completely, it is entirely unimportant.
"Notice how much of your day you are speaking about racism." If you never do, then you are an accomplished man and have found true meaning in your life. If you find yourself being "lectured," play a song in your head and remember to pick up that book from Frederick Douglass.
Race trainers may use all of this, except the parts I quoted since my preference is not to associate with racists.