(DailyAnswer.org) – Duke Medical School in Durham, North Carolina, has claimed in a strategic plan for establishing an “anti-racist workforce” that expecting punctuality from people of color is “white supremacy culture”.
The medical school stated in the 2021 plan for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion that it aims to trigger anti-racist practice by utilizing education. The guide, which the school’s dean supports, highlighted a perceived culture of white supremacy that includes dress code, expected standards of speech and work style, and students being required to show up on time.
The document suggested that such tropes were typical of white culture specifically, and defined “white supremacy culture” as the notion that the thoughts, beliefs and behavior of white people are better than those of people of color. The term “white supremacy culture” was coined in 2001 by Tema Okun, who penned a now infamous “workbook” advocating for social change and the end of racism.
The workbook highlighted perfectionism, sense of urgency, individualism, paternalism and “hoarding of power” as symptoms of so-called white supremacy culture. Center for Ethnic, Racial, and Religious Understanding at Queens College fellowship director, Alysa Gray, referenced Okun in 2019 and argued that emphasis on professionalism in the workplace was veiled racism that favored white people.
In 2021 Asao Inoue, professor of rhetoric and composition at Arizona State University, argued that “white language supremacy” needed to end. Inoue suggested a “labor-based” system of grading instead, which would assess students based on how much work they put into their assignments. He claimed that students more familiar with “white language” had an unfair advantage at university.
Progressives have long suggested potential warning signs of far-right extremism in culture and hobbies, which range from physical fitness to reading books. Skeptics have criticized both Democrats and Republicans for conveniently blaming “culture” and class for the impoverishment of black communities in a way that perpetuates racist stereotypes.
The dean of Duke Medical School, Dr. Mary E. Klotman, defended the guide and said it represented the strategies and priorities of the school. She said the school’s DEI policy called for flexibility, and for staff to take action individually to support a “collective goal”. The school’s plans include creating recruitment pipelines at historically black universities, colleges and community colleges. Another part of the school’s guide suggested that white people have “fragility” that results in them reacting defensively when their purported racism is exposed.
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