Following criticism from the state’s governor, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) appears to have taken down a reference to left-wing author Ibram X. Kendi, as well as other portions of the college’’s “anti-racism” plan.
In November, a webpage for UNL’s “Journey for Anti-Racism and Racial Equity” said it endorsed Kendi’s definition of anti-racism.
“[T]he Chancellor announced UNL would embark on a Journey For Anti-Racism and Racial Equity,” the webpage read. “In this context, our journey for anti-racism utilizes Ibram Kendi’s definition on becoming ‘actively conscious about race and racism’ and taking ‘actions to end racial inequities.”
But Internet archives show that, as of December 1, the reference to Kendi was gone. Also missing was another portion that Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts, a Republican, criticized in his column on November 30.
On Friday, a UNL spokesperson told Fox News, “Our work on racial equity and inclusion is incredibly important. Language in a single paragraph of our journey action plan was being mischaracterized. Our goals are clearly stated throughout the document, so we chose to remove that paragraph to end the distractions from the overall goal.”
Kendi, who on the Left has become an influential figure on the matter of Critical Race Theory (CRT), explicitly endorses discrimination as a tool of so-called anti-racism.
Governor Ricketts’ column took issue with Kendi’s definition of anti-racism and criticized its assertions about structural racism.
“UNL’s plan is also based on the flawed assumption that differences in outcomes among racial groups are the result of systemic racism and how people are treated based on skin color,” the governor argued,
Ricketts added:
The data, however, doesn’t support this conclusion. The University’s plan makes the claim that racism is “often structural and embedded into systems,” however, it does not spell out specific examples of what this looks like at UNL besides vaguely stating there are “different outcomes for different groups.”
As of December 1, the portions Ricketts quoted were gone from the university’s website.
In August, the university’s board of regents shot down an anti-CRT resolution from regent and Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Pillen.
Pillen also criticized UNL’s anti-racism plan. In a Friday press release, Pillen said, “This plan is simply wrong. It can’t be fixed by changing or deleting some words. You cannot rename this, expand it across campuses, or talk to more Nebraskans about it. No more of this ‘journey.’ No more Critical Race Theory. This ends now.”
The controversial plan also features language stating that it would consider race in the hiring process. The section in question reads: “Begin a comprehensive review of hiring practices and retention data of tenure-track, non-tenure track faculty, extension faculty, and staff in the context of race and ethnicity.”
UNL Chancellor Ronnie Green similarly said in a November 17 op-ed, “We are committed to fostering an environment where we better recruit, retain, and support the success of students, faculty and staff who are people of color.”
Upon being asked whether the plan would result in hiring based on race, UNL public affairs director Leslie Reed said replied, “These steps are about having a diverse pool of candidates from which we can pick the best person, regardless of race.”
Pillen argues that the plan “violates the Nebraska Constitution and the Board of Regents bylaws.”
But Deb Fiddelke, chief communication and marketing officer, contends that the plan violated neither the state constitution nor state law.
“We have no comment generally,” Fiddelke said in a statement provided to Fox News on November 19. “Factually, this is not something that requires Board of Regents approval. We are very mindful of Nebraska state law and the Nebraska Constitution, have worked carefully to ensure this violates neither, and will continue to do so.”
Seattle recently rolled out its own “anti-racism” training to which city workers are subjected. The manual used explains that “all forms of oppression are intersectional and wrapped up in white supremacy: The ‘White, Christian Heteronormative Patriarchy’ prevents us from collective liberation.”
A key repetitive phrase in the 214-page manual is “interrupting whiteness,” a task it assigns to whites themselves. To “interrupt their whiteness,” whites must sacrifice, the manual says. They might have to give up “guaranteed physical safety” and “risk losing job[s], losing social status, losing niceties from neighbors.”
