DEI appeared alive and well in the Twin Cities, where a new report cast a light on the “absurd ideas” a university perpetuated on “whiteness” at the taxpayer’s expense.
Among the many initiatives of President Donald Trump’s administration, tackling the woke ideologies that have permeated the federal government and society has been given priority treatment. Now it appeared the University of Minnesota would be facing some extra scrutiny from the Department of Justice after the pet project of the school’s Culture and Family Life Lab director was found to be promoting the idea of a “Whiteness Pandemic.”
Featured in a report from the watchdog group Defending Education, Dr. Gail Ferguson of the university’s Institute of Child Development had led current and former graduate fellows on a project that contends, “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.”
“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,” continued the project, still prominently featured on the university’s website. “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.”
An example from the report featured by Defending Education took aim at families as it read, “Naming the Whiteness Pandemic shifts our gaze from the victims and effects of racism onto the systems that perpetrate and perpetuate racism, starting with the family system. At birth, young children growing up in White families begin to be socialized into the culture of Whiteness, making the family system one of the most powerful systems involved in systemic racism.”
“This far-left programming at a major public university is another example of how ingrained DEI is in higher education and is not going away any time soon,” Defending Education research Director Rhyen Staley told Fox News Digital.
“It is not only concerning that these programs appear to still be up and running, but that absurd ideas like ‘whiteness’ also gain legitimacy through dubious activist-academic ‘scholarship.’ Universities must end this nonsense yesterday,” added Staley.
As to how Ferguson’s project had drawn its conclusions, the research was said to have surveyed close to 400 white mothers, nearly all of whom were from Minnesota, with an average income between $125,000 and $150,000. The vast majority had a college education, and 61% identified as “somewhat or very liberal” compared to 18% as “somewhat or very conservative.”
For this research, the director was awarded the Society for General Psychology’s 2022 George A. Miller Award for an Outstanding Article by the American Psychological Association Division 1. The project itself was funded by taxpayers through the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).
Responding to a request for comment from Fox News Digital, a university spokesperson said the school is “steadfast in its commitment to the principles of academic freedom.”
Meanwhile, a clip of Ferguson’s video on the “Whiteness Pandemic” that included promoting parents to join the Marxist organization Black Lives Matter, merited a reaction from Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Civil Rights Division, who simply stated, “Interesting.”
Interesting. https://t.co/dC2Qnij2Oo
— AAGHarmeetDhillon (@AAGDhillon) November 26, 2025
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
- Elections in Connecticut lead to 22-yr-old having control of millions of taxpayer dollars - December 3, 2025
- Illegal immigrant kills police K-9 dog in California stand-off - December 3, 2025
- Pope Leo meddles in politics, urges Trump not to oust Maduro - December 3, 2025
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.