by Reagan Reese
A Connecticut boarding school is encouraging their faculty to acknowledge their whiteness and pledge political change, according to the school website.
Taft Boarding School in Watertown, Connecticut, has a “Taft Anti-Bias, Anti-Racism Caucus” (TABARC) as a part of their commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, for faculty to increase their “anti-bias, anti-racist literacy,” accordingto the school website. The group aims to acknowledge that they are “white,” affirm they are “anti-racist” and “pledge to caucus for personal and political change.”
“We welcome everyone – those curious or apprehensive or some of both – to join us as we work to: learn about the historical and ongoing oppression and marginalization of people of color; support, counsel and push each other as we work to increase our anti-bias, anti-racist literacy; actively support initiatives that seek to improve the safety and quality of life of people of color in our community and beyond,” the TABARC website stated.
TABARC offered resources for those wishing to “explore whiteness” including the book “Me And White Supremacy,” a novel that teaches how to combat racism and become a “good ancestor,” the group website showed. The group also promoted the book “White Fragility,” which addresses “why it’s so hard for white people to talk about racism.”
For “relearning history” the group promoted the New York Times 1619 Project and the book “Stamped From The Beginning” by Ibram X. Kendi, which describes how America’s history may be racist, the website showed.
Taft’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiative began in 2020 following the death of George Floyd in which “white members of the Taft faculty found themselves looking inward,” the website section showed. Originally a “white affinity group,” TABARC evolved to show the group is “serious about anti-racism.”
A testimony says they joined the group “to become a better ally and look at my own implicit biases to make sure I am making my classroom a safe place,” the website showed.
Taft School did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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Reagan Reese is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
Photo “Taft Boarding School” by Taft Boarding School.