WATKINS: UNC’s Attempt to Grapple with ‘History of Racism and Oppression’

RALEIGH – The rise of the ‘Racial Equity Task Force’ within governments and institutions came quickly on the heels of nationwide Woke Riots, which were activated after the police killing of a black man in Minneapolis. Governor Roy Cooper launched such a social justice task force weeks ago, but, curiously, there had not yet been established such a ‘Critical Race Theory Commission’ at one of the main sources of this pseudo-intellectual poison — the Old Well of UNC Chapel Hill.

That has been ‘fixed’ now, and Shannon Watkins of the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal is out with an excellent analysis of UNC’s effort to turn the post-modern social microscope on itself.

“On June 8, interim UNC system president William Roper and chairman of the Board of Governors Randy Ramsey announced the establishment of a race and equity task force. The announcement came a day after three individuals associated with the UNC system wrote a letter requesting that such a task force be established.

In the letter, David Green, Garrett Killian, and Isaiah Green wrote that they condemn acts of violence against “people of color, especially those that target Black men.” They continued:

‘We are keenly aware that some members of our academic community may know, on a visceral level the traumatizing pain of racism while others are safely insulated from these lived experiences. Collectively, we believe that silence equates to consent. United, in this historic moment, we choose not to be silent, but instead to be active agents of change in this teachable moment.’

The authors argued that the university system is obligated to teach about racism and to ensure that all “people of color”—in particular “Black stakeholders”—have a right to feel included and valued.

In response, Roper and Ramsey wrote that they “support the sentiments expressed” in the letter.  They noted that recent acts of violence “compel all of us fully to recognize and grapple with our country’s history of racism and oppression that has so often resulted in violence.”

“As members of the University community, it is our obligation and responsibility to do the hard work needed to address inequities in the UNC System for the benefit of students, faculty, staff, and all North Carolinians,” Roper and Ramsey wrote. They then announced that the equity task force will be established as a six-member special committee of the Board of Governors, with board member Darrell Allison as chair and board members Kellie Blue and Anna Nelson as vice chairs.

According to the memorandum, the task force is expected to meet with students, faculty, and staff groups to discuss issues of race and equity in the UNC system, as well as concrete steps that can be taken to achieve greater “equity and understanding.” The task force will also prepare a report of recommended metrics and goals which will be presented to the full board on October 2.

The task force had its first meeting by video conference call on July 9. Chair Allison kicked off the discussion by stating that he believes it is important for everyone on the task force to start with a common understanding of terms that will be used in their work. He then asked that the following graphic be displayed […]:

Watkin’s goes on to describe the terms issued by the chair of the task force, confirming that this effort will be 100% Certified Woke.

In an educational institution, how will such equity take form? How about grades; there is just as much of an argument for systemic racism in grading as there is anywhere else. Will ‘Students of Color’ be graded on a different curve to provide an equity of academic results?

Would you be the slightest bit surprised if that was a real recommendation from this task force? Read the rest of Watkins’s piece detailing the effort here.