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Tufts hit with backlash for suggesting fall diversity discussion series be segregated by race

October 10, 2022 | | Print Article

A Boston University’s embrace of critical race theory drew intense backlash as a dialogue series purported to combat racism seemed to be setting the “campus…faculty” and “students back years.”

Progressivism’s slow march through the institutions better resembles a celebratory parade these days as, despite frequent derision from the public, cultural Marxism has thrived throughout academia. Now Tufts University located in Medford, Mass., just outside Boston, has stepped up its goal of “equity” with its upcoming “Dialogue Series: Unpacking Whiteness and Radical Healing.”

In no uncertain terms, Tufts detailed the intention of the series and how through sessions beginning Oct. 17 they will be separating participating students and staff based on whether or not they are white with the intent of exposing how “Whiteness” has given “rise to racial injustice” in America.

First for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), the school is offered the “Radical Healing” series to create “an important, safe space for staff and faculty at Tufts whose racial demographics are categorized as ‘BIPOC’…While BIPOC is often interpreted to mean Black, it is neither limited to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, nor does the acronym respect all the multiracial aspects in which people self-identify.”

Essentially, anyone who decides they are a member of the victimhood class can participate in this series at no cost to be part of a “safe place for those who have traditionally been marginalized due to centuries old forms of systemic and institutional oppression inherent in society.”

”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,” the university explained. Though everyone wants to feel included, the “Radical Healing” series is not meant for white students and staff who would be expected to participate in their own series on “Unpacking Whiteness.”

The series embraced CRT and proudly promoted anti-racism which they defined as “an active and ongoing process of identifying and eliminating racism by changing systems, organizational structures, policies, practices, and attitudes in a way that redistributes power, policy, and structures to be more equitable while drawing attention to the lived experiences of Black people, Indigenous people, and People of Color.”

Social media users including alumni called out the absurdity of the series with many announcing an end to their donations to their alma mater, encouraging others to do the same. One wrote, “I am cancelling my annual donation and urging fellow alumni to DEFUND Tufts University until they restore racial compassion and respect.”

Another tweeted, “What a horrible road to go down in the name of wholeness,” while someone else said, “Looks like Tufts doesn’t follow MLK’s vision of not seeing people through the color of their skin.”

Tufts’s radicalization and deliberate segregation have been an ongoing process as in 2020 they launched their Anti-Racist Institution initiative to “find and eradicate any structural racism at Tufts and to take the steps necessary to become what every member of our community would view as an antiracist institution.” This included the removal of presidential portraits in favor of exhibitions of underrepresented communities because the former were seemingly too white.

Furthermore, the same year the university rebranded its “Group of Six” collective of identity-based centers on campus into the Division of Student Diversity and Inclusion (DSDI). Originally including the Africana Center, Asian American Center, Latino Center, Women’s Center, LGBT Center and the FIRST Resource Center, this Sept. the segregation broadened to eight identity-based centers.

The additions included the Indigenous Center and the Center for STEM Diversity along and the Latino Center had since been renamed the Latinx Center.

Kevin Haggerty
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