New York City Mayor Eric Adams has ordered all City Hall employees to undergo equality training inspired by the controversial Critical Race Theory.
A mandatory course was emailed to employees, which included sections urging employees to be aware of “systematic racism,” which is described as “a system that negatively impacts communities in the United States compared to white communities.” Color affects” has been defined.
The training, which staff must complete by March 6, also states that “our society has used race to establish and justify systems of power, privilege, exclusion and oppression.”
The training covers individual, institutional and systemic racism and directs that all NYC workplaces should maintain a “justice perspective” by implementing anti-racism training and creating spaces where racial and related issues can be openly discussed.
A source familiar with the course told Fox News, “When they discussed justice, how we need to look at people through a certain lens, that contradicted … [the idea that] we should treat everyone equally.’
Mayor Eric Adams (L) makes a subway safety announcement January 27 in New York
The introduction of critical race theory into some state curricula has sparked a backlash from some campaign groups
“I don’t agree with what they want from us as city employees. the [racial equity training] leads me to believe they want the contracts with the city and the hiring of the city to be viewed through that lens.
“And I think that’s really unfair. It’s against her [stated claims]… that everyone should be treated equally.”
A source familiar with the training told Fox News Digital: “Breed has no genetic or scientific basis. It is a social construct created to classify people on the arbitrary basis of skin color and other physical characteristics.
WHAT IS CRITICAL RACE THEORY?
The critical race theory has become a divisive idea in the United States in recent years.
But it arose in the 1970s as a reflection of how the law might uphold and preserve racial discrimination in some cases.
The term was adopted by academics in other fields and received greater attention in the 1990s and 2000s.
Some historians, journalists, and academics have seen the CRT framework as a way to examine more deeply rooted inequalities in different parts of society.
Some critics—including historians, journalists, and academics—have resisted viewing various aspects of society through the lens of race and historical disadvantage.
Supportive parents have argued that it is important for young children to question social norms and inherited “unconscious biases,” and to critically examine various aspects of society.
Conflicting parents have argued that politicizing the classroom is dangerous, that racial privilege is reductive, and that teaching about institutional racism fuels divisions.
“Nevertheless, race has a very real impact on people’s lives. This is because our society has used race to establish and justify systems of power, privilege, exclusion and oppression.”
Explaining the definitions of institutional racism and structural racism, it said: “Institutional racism: Policies, practices, patterns and structures within public and private institutions that impose oppressive or otherwise negative conditions on identifiable groups based on race or ethnicity.
“Structural racism/systematic racism: racism that occurs in multiple institutions and is integrated into politics, culture, and other aspects of life. Creating a system that negatively impacts communities of color compared to white communities.’
Critical Race Theory is “a comprehensive academic framework” that argues that historical patterns of racism are ingrained in law and other institutions.
But it has become a highly controversial topic in the US, and some states have tried to ban it from schools.
The methodology grew out of a law degree from Harvard University in the 1970s and generally refers to a way of looking at specific institutions and sectors of society through the lens of race and privilege.
Governor Ron DeSantis, a staunch opponent of CRT, recently stated that Florida public universities should disclose all government funds spent on programs, courses and other initiatives related to diversity, equity, inclusion and the teaching of Critical Race Theory.
During his first term, DeSantis established several policies aimed at restricting the teaching of critical race theory and gender identity—particularly among younger children.
However, conservative critics have pushed against racial sensitivity training in schools and in the workplace.
Former President Donald Trump previously said: “Students at our universities are being inundated with critical race theory. This is a Marxist doctrine that says America is an evil and racist nation.’
He added: ‘[It] it’s being forced into our children’s schools, it’s being forced into workplace training and it’s being used to tear friends, neighbors and families apart.’
New York Mayor Eric Adams on January 29 at the Columbia University Forum
CRT instruction has proved controversial among some parents and students
The news also comes days after Republican Representative Chip Roy introduced a bill to defund public schools that practice “racist instruction” by exposing students to “divisive concepts” like critical race theory.
The Combating Racist Teaching in Schools Act, or CRT Act, would block federal funding to K-12 schools that promote such “race-based theories.”
The legislation identifies doctrines such as those stating that “every race is inherently superior or inferior to any other race, color or national origin”; “The United States is a fundamentally racist country”; or that “The Declaration of Independence or the United States Constitution are fundamentally racist documents.”
It would also target teachings about unconscious bias.