Johns Hopkins Medicine Chief Diversity Officer resigns after 'poorly worded' email about men, 'White people,' and 'Christians'
The Chief Diversity Officer at Johns Hopkins Medicine resigned on Tuesday after criticism stemming from the creation of a list containing groups that have "privilege."
The Chief Diversity Officer at Johns Hopkins Medicine resigned on Tuesday after criticism stemming from her distribution of a list of groups she believes have “privilege.”
As Campus Reform reported, Dr. Sherita Golden sent the list of groups in a January email sent to staff members, which defined “privilege” as “a set of unearned benefits given to people who are in a specific social group.”
Golden went on to name nine groups in the country that have been “granted” privilege “at the expense of members of other groups.”
According to Golden, these “privileged” groups are: “White people,” “Able-bodied people,” “Heterosexuals,” “Cisgender people,” “Males,” “Christians,” “Middle or owning class people,” “Middle-aged people,” and “English-speaking people.”
“Privilege is characteristically invisible to people who have it. People in dominant groups often believe they have earned the privileges they enjoy or that everyone could have access to these privileges if only they worked to earn them. In fact, privileges are unearned and are granted to people in the dominant groups whether they want those privileges or not, and regardless of their stated intent,” she claimed.
According to the Baltimore Banner, Golden resigned from her position on Tuesday.
Administrators wrote in an email to staff members that Golden “has been a valuable member of the Johns Hopkins Medicine leadership team, and, like many of you, we wanted her to stay in her role, but we respect her decision.”
According to the outlet, Golden will continue to be employed as the Hugh P. McCormick Family Professor of Endocrinology and Metabolism.
The “privilege” list was retracted shortly after it was sent out, and Golden said she “deeply” regretted her definition of privilege, adding it “did not meet [the] goal” to “inform and support an inclusive community at Hopkins. . . . In fact, because it was overly simplistic and poorly worded, it had the opposite effect of being exclusionary and hurtful to members of our community.”
“I retract and disavow the definition I shared, and I am sorry. I will work to ensure that future messages better reflect our organizational values,” Golden added.
A spokesperson for Johns Hopkins Medicine told Fox News: “The January edition of the monthly newsletter from the Johns Hopkins Medicine Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Health Equity used language that contradicts the values of Johns Hopkins as an institution. Dr. Sherita Golden, Johns Hopkins Medicine’s Chief Diversity Officer, has sincerely acknowledged this mistake and retracted the language used in the message.”
