The head of the Diversity, Inclusion and Health Equity office of Johns Hopkins University expressed “regret” over issuing a “privilege” list that went viral.
The backlash was not something Dr. Sherita Golden could ignore and she issued an update announcing that she would “retract and disavow” the definition she had used.
In a letter to the Johns Hopkins Medicine community, the vice president and chief diversity officer admitted that “upon reflection.” she “deeply” regretted the definition of the word “privilege” that she had used in a newsletter.
The previous communication on the “Diversity Word of the Month” included an actual list of those guilty of being part of the privileged groups.
John Hopkins just sent out this hit list of people automatically guilty of “privilege” whether they know it or not:
-Males
-Whites
-Christians
-Mid-aged people
-Able-bodied people
-Middle & owning class
-English-speaking peopleThis message was emailed directly to employees… pic.twitter.com/xor1wjo17B
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) January 10, 2024
“Privilege is characteristically invisible to people who have it,” Golden’s newsletter explained in the publication that ironically touted its celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.
“People in dominant groups often believe they have earned the privileges they enjoy or that everyone could have access to these privileges if only they worked to earn them,” the definition continued. “In fact, privileges are unearned and are granted to people in the dominant groups whether they want these privileges or not, and regardless of their stated intent.”
The floodgates of criticism were opened.
You have said the absolute truth
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) January 10, 2024
Johns Hopkins University is proud to promote racism.
They’re actually doing everyone a favor by being this blatant about it.
Now people know not to send their kids there.
This is the beauty of free speech — it allows evil people to expose themselves.
— Paul A. Szypula (@Bubblebathgirl) January 10, 2024
“have membership in one or more of these groups…”
Does she speak English? Is she middle class? Able bodied? She’s got a lot of privilege.
— MAZE (@mazemoore) January 10, 2024
DEI stands for Division, Exclusion and Incompetence. AKA Communism.
Every one of these racist/sexist clowns should be fired for not only being a waste of money and pushing racist/sexist policies, but they’re an affront to what Meritocracy is and stands for in western culture.
— Bryce Wade (@BryceWadeBEO) January 10, 2024
Golden’s sort-of apology soon followed.
“The intent of the newsletter is to inform and support an inclusive community at Hopkins, but the language of this definition clearly did not meet that goal. In fact, because it was overly simplistic and poorly worded, it had the opposite effect of being exclusionary and hurtful to members of our community,” she wrote.
UPDATE: The Johns Hopkins DEI Office has retracted their “privilege list” after our post went viral and drew massive outrage https://t.co/DWirlJBpKg pic.twitter.com/j26FUKSp2w
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) January 11, 2024
Not surprisingly, the letter set off another wave of criticism.
And the disaster of a person that wrote that is an MD!
— Tammy Bruce (@HeyTammyBruce) January 11, 2024
Close the “office of diversity” and fire this racist.
— Awake, not Woke (@Doembon) January 11, 2024
Funny how these demons retreat once the sunlight hits them. Excellent work.
— Woke Societies (@wokesocieties) January 11, 2024
“On reflection”: These people only bother to reflect when they are called out on their poison.
— Ben Kew ️♂️ (@ben_kew)
Score one for common sense.
Johns Hopkins privilege list didn’t just miss the mark, it hit the bullseye on divisiveness.
Here’s to hoping this is the first of many wake-up calls for institutions everywhere.
Real inclusivity doesn’t come from labeling and dividing, it comes…
— Hank (@GCapital_LLC) January 11, 2024
_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>January 11, 2024
All you have to do is hold up a mirror to these people to show them how terrible their ideas are. Solid work
— Jason Jones (@jonesville) January 11, 2024
They don’t regret anything. They’ll just find a new way to hate white people.
— Libs Hate Us (@LibsHateUs) January 11, 2024
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida. Powers also contributes to BizPac Review.
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