Broward College promotes 'teaching Black Lives Matter,' disparages 'All Lives Matter'

A “Teaching Black Lives Matter” page on the library website of Broward College in Fort Lauderdale, Florida provides resources for professors to “incorporate the BLM movement into our courses” and to “address the social response to the notion of All Lives Matter.”

“Our goal is to ensure that our colleagues understand why #BlackLivesMatter (and address the social response to the notion of All Lives Matter), focus on social justice, and create an atmosphere of civil discussion on race,” reads the website. At one point, it asks if “All Lives Matter” is a “well-intentioned (albeit ill-informed attempt at inclusiveness.” 

The first section, titled  “Critical Thinking and BLM,” presents various topic questions such as “How can we incorporate the BLM movement into our courses?”, “How can faculty design assignments and activities that engage students in thinking critically about BLM?”, and “How can we help our students understand the relevance, depth, and breadth of BLM?”

A section titled “Pedagogy and Black Lives Matter” presents several documents, including an one titled “Teaching Race, Racism, and Racial Justice: Pedagogical Principles and Classroom Strategies for Course Instructors.” It warns that “White students may resist confronting issues of race and racism,” and “Internalized oppression may complicate participation for students of color.”

Under the category “White students may resist confronting issues of race and racism” the article states that believing success comes from effort is a myth, and such “misunderstandings and resistance” will cause “students of color” to be “the targets of microaggressions or outright racism.”

[RELATED: UMass-Boston hosts inaugural ‘Black Lives Matter Day,’ unveils BLM mural]

“As a result, students may resist updating their thinking in four ways: casting themselves as innocent bystanders of racism, adopting myths of meritocracy to argue that success is a matter of mere effort, ascribing racist beliefs and behaviors to ‘overt racists,’ or describing racism as a regional problem,” it explains.

“In the context of such misunderstandings and resistance, students of color may be the targets of microaggressions or outright racism as their peers passively avoid or actively resist any counter-normative racial dialogue, especially if these dialogues challenge deeply held beliefs or trigger feelings of guilt or shame (Bonilla-Silva & Forman, 2000),” it continues.

The second linked document, entitled “Barriers and Strategies by White Faculty Who Incorporate Anti-Racist Pedagogy,” is a study that “focused on the experiences of White faculty who incorporate an anti-racist framework into their college classrooms.”

The study discusses various professional and personal barriers that the faculty members came across with anti-racist education including their internalized struggles with White identity, including one example of a White faculty member seeking recognition from colleagues of color for their anti-racism work. 

“Some participants described struggling with the desire for recognition from colleagues of color,” explains the study “As one participant described it, ‘I think one of the issues for me as a White person is not being acknowledged primarily by African-American faculty members for the work I’m doing…it’s not even a loss of privilege, it’s more a loss of opportunities to work with those faculty members around the same goal…in most instances, I’m not welcome.’”

The study states that this phenomenon is called “Black pat” and is a form of White privilege if sought out: “The struggle that many White allies face with the need for affirmation from people of color can be referred to as the Black pat. This need for affirmation for doing ‘good work’ can put undue pressure on a colleague of color to constantly affirm allyship.”

“Seeking a Black pat epitomizes White privilege, in which White allies hope people of color will show gratitude for helping (Collins & Jun, 2017),” the study continues. 

[RELATED: Kentucky State’s new ‘W.O.K.E.’ task force distributes Black Lives Matter shirts]

The need for affirmation can lead to another phenomenon called “White 22” according to the study. It explains that “White 22” happens when a White person feels hurt for not getting the affirmation they desire and can cause them to withdraw from the anti-racism work.

This study’s framework is “Critical White Studies,” which the authors note is “rooted in Critical Race Theory.” It also refers to chronic “White Privilege” as “Whitefluenza,” to point out that it is an “illness that cannot be fully cured.”

“Described as a movement by Delgado and Stefancic (2012), CRT seeks to reveal how White supremacy has established and perpetuated the oppression of people of color,” explains the study. “As a critical theory, CRT begins with the notion that race is socially constructed by the context of an individual and society (McLaren, 2009). It follows that racism is endemic in American society and thus is prevalent and imbedded in all aspects of the culture (Delgado and Stefancic, 2012).” 

Critical Race Theory was recently banned in federally funded programs in an executive order signed by President Donald Trump. 

The third section listed on Broward’s website, entitled, “Lesson Plans,” lists various topics such as the debunked New York Times 1619 Project that has “ready made teaching resources for K-12, college, and adult education.” 

The section other “lesson plans,” such as “Teaching in an Uprising.” 

“Academics previously provided a fig-leaf on their politicization and bigotry by using euphemisms such as social justice and diversity,” the National Association of Scholars told Campus Reform. “The shift to explicit endorsement of ‘Black Lives Matter,’ and the outright bigotry of ‘antiracism,’ is not a transformation of their previous activities, just a shucking off of the camouflage they used. They are now confident that they can openly proclaim their perversion of higher education and face no consequences. 

”It is up to the taxpayers and their elected representatives to prove them wrong,” NAS said.

Campus Reform reached out to Broward College for comment but didn’t receive a response.

Follow the author of this article: Haley Worth