Consider the case of former Pennsylvania State University assistant professor of writing, Zack De Piero. In June 2020, the DEI director of the university sent a memo ordering “white people” to “Stop talking and listen to what needs to be done,” accept that they had “internalized white supremacy,” and “hold other white people accountable…”
Then, the university’s DEI Vice President held a Zoom and “told everybody in attendance, ‘I want you to hold your breath in honor of George Floyd. And for all the white attendees, I want you to hold your breath even longer until you feel the pain.’”A few months later, De Piero’s employer made him watch a video called “White Teachers Are a Problem.” One year later, he says, The Penn State Affirmative Action Office told him, point blank, “There is a problem with the white race” and ordered him to attend “antiracist” workshops “until you get it.”
De Piero refused to accept that he was racist, simply for the fact of being white. He refused to accept that he should lower the standards he used with his minority students simply because they were minorities. In various ways he pushed back, until he got in trouble with his supervisor. “It’s not that complicated,” he said. “You shouldn’t have to go to work and be told that you’re morally deficient because of your race.”
De Piero eventually got into trouble with his advisor for asking too many hard questions about the “antiracism” trainings. De Piero looked into hiring an attorney to sue the college but couldn’t afford it. “I was just about to drop it,” he said, “and in the 12th hour I got news from the Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism (FAIR) that they had some funds to help me file a complaint. None of this would have been possible without them.”
Then, the university’s DEI Vice President held a Zoom and “told everybody in attendance, ‘I want you to hold your breath in honor of George Floyd. And for all the white attendees, I want you to hold your breath even longer until you feel the pain.’”A few months later, De Piero’s employer made him watch a video called “White Teachers Are a Problem.” One year later, he says, The Penn State Affirmative Action Office told him, point blank, “There is a problem with the white race” and ordered him to attend “antiracist” workshops “until you get it.”
De Piero refused to accept that he was racist, simply for the fact of being white. He refused to accept that he should lower the standards he used with his minority students simply because they were minorities. In various ways he pushed back, until he got in trouble with his supervisor. “It’s not that complicated,” he said. “You shouldn’t have to go to work and be told that you’re morally deficient because of your race.”
De Piero eventually got into trouble with his advisor for asking too many hard questions about the “antiracism” trainings. De Piero looked into hiring an attorney to sue the college but couldn’t afford it. “I was just about to drop it,” he said, “and in the 12th hour I got news from the Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism (FAIR) that they had some funds to help me file a complaint. None of this would have been possible without them.”
