Employees at several United States federal agencies received anti-racism training from diversity consultant Howard Ross and anthropologist Johnnetta Cole, according to a whistleblower report. Agencies include the Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the National Credit Union Association (NCUA)
The NCUA updated its diversity policy when Trump nominated Rodney Hood to serve as chairman in 2019.
"As an African-American man, I am shocked and appalled and share the heartbreak of many in the black community," Hood said in a statement following George Floyd's murder. "I am also encouraging everyone to have difficult conversations and to look for ways to promote diversity and inclusion within our communities. Individually and collectively, we can make a difference — one conversation and relationship at a time."
Hood formed the NCUA Culture, Diversity, and Inclusion Council to "focus on issues of inclusion within the agency."
Critical race theory is becoming the federal government's default ideology.
— Christopher F. Rufo (@realchrisrufo) July 20, 2020
In new whistleblower documents, I've discovered that the National Credit Union Administration hired diversity consultant Howard Ross to train 8,900 employees on "white supremacy."
Let's unpack it. ??
Rufo suspected the training had occurred, but not until he obtained a transcript of the training and supplementary materials earlier this week did the details emerge.
Constructed on the assumption that "virtually all White people contribute to racism," the lesson instructs white NCUA employees to "struggle to own their racism." Having done so, they must work to internalize a new narrative about race and facilitate the dismantling of hegemonic racist institutions.
Within the agencies, conservative employees are "terrified." Whistleblowers say the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion operates almost as a racialized intelligence service, encouraging employees to denounce their colleagues for "unconscious bias" and "microagressions." pic.twitter.com/88Y5hWgITA
— Christopher F. Rufo (@realchrisrufo) July 20, 2020
Rufo summarizes the training, entitled "Difficult Conversations about Race in Troubling Times:"
Ross begins by claiming America was "founded on racism" and "built on the backs of people who were enslaved." He says modern America has upheld this system of white supremacy through "policing [and] discriminatory practices" for "hundreds and hundreds of years."
Ross claims that all white people are complicit in this system of white supremacy "not necessarily by choice, but by automatic response to the ways we're taught." He claims that even "good and decent [white] people" uphold "the system of systematized racism."
Next, Ross argues that "the policing system in this country has always been about race" and "keeping freed slaves in their place." He says American police uphold the white supremacist system that "produces the results we're seeing," such as police killings of black men.
In a graphic prepared by the NCUA, the trainers argue there is an "unavoidable connection between George Floyd and slavery lynching." They claim "white people keep the system in place" and demand that federal employees become political "activists" to seek "policy change."
In a graphic prepared by the NCUA, the trainers argue there is an "unavoidable connection between George Floyd and slavery lynching." They claim "white people keep the system in place" and demand that federal employees become political "activists" to seek "policy change." pic.twitter.com/JyGSzDB2cQ
— Christopher F. Rufo (@realchrisrufo) July 20, 2020
Seattle also recruited Ross to administer anti-whiteness training to city officials earlier this month.
According to a survey Rufo performed into Ross's contract history with the U.S. government, Ross has charged more than $5 million for administering diversity programs in various federal organizations since 2006. And the scope of contracts has only increased under the Trump administration: 17 different agencies, including the Department of Justice, the National Institute of Health, and the Office of the Attorney General have
Ross also claims that Johnnetta Cole "was a fellow traveler of the Communist Party USA, Soviet Union front groups, and the radical publication 'Rethinking Marxism.'" Former President Clinton had considered her for a position in his administration, but after reports surfaced of her involvement with far-Left organizations, including the pro-Castro Venceremos Brigades, he removed her candidacy.
Rufo says the investigation will continue.
Good news: multiple federal offices have reached out to me about my diversity training reports. It's time for a complete investigation into critical race theory in the federal government. Buckle up. ??
— Christopher F. Rufo (@realchrisrufo) July 21, 2020