Vassar College Workshop: ‘All White People Are Racist’

by Catherine Smith

Students that attended a recent workshop at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, were reportedly told that “all white people are racist,” Breitbart reports.

According to a report by The College Fix, The People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond’s “Undoing Racism” workshop, hosted on various college campuses and other community locations across the nation, works to end systemic racism and institutional oppression, teaching students that racism is woven into the fabric of American society.

One way it does that is by telling attendees “all white people are racist.”

An op-ed in Vassar College’s student newspaper states that during an Undoing Racism workshop there during the fall 2019 semester, instructors made that statement and highlighted specific ways in which they believe American society is racist.

“We looked into each other’s souls as we discussed hardships and shared truths. For some spotting racism is easy, while for others it comes to light that racism is not always this blatant use of the n-word or making someone sit in the back of the bus. It’s oppression. It’s a lack of opportunities. Racism is thinking you are being progressive by allowing a Black child into your predominantly white school, but not wanting your white child to attend a predominantly Black school.”

“Interestingly, the instructors did not focus on the possibility of dismantling race in an attempt to establish equality. PISAB defines racism as “racial prejudice + power.” With this in mind, there were no interjections when the instructors stated, “All white people are racist.”

“Sitting in this imperfect circle, each participant motionless in their seats, the words reverberate around the room. Can this controversial statement initiate the beginning of change?”

“Undoing Racism” workshops have been taking place on American college campuses since 2010. Organizers of the workshop claim that their program is not a workshop on racism but rather a “social movement” that teaches students how to analyze the “structures of power and privilege that hinder social equity.”

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Catherine Smith is a newcomer to Washington D.C. She met, and married an American journalist and moved to D.C from the U.K. She graduated with a B.A in Graphic, Media and Communications and worked in design and retail in the U.K.
Photo “Vassar College” by Notermote. CC BY-SA 3.0.