A professor in Salem, Oregon, – who is a self-described expert in “racism… and social change” – derided White people for showing up as “damaging” to people of color.
Professor Emily Drew of Willamette University works for a consulting company called Crossroads which charges tens of thousands of dollars for critical race theory-related development sessions. Drew has consulted with school districts as a strategic planner, helping them to “develop and implement long term commitments to anti-racist, multicultural diversity.”
The College Fix reported that Drew will be using her academic expertise on “racism” in a training of how White people can become “less damaging” to people of color. Previous events she hosted were titled, “Working on our Whiteness” and “Challenging Our Inner Becky: Interventions of White Women-ness in Our Community.”
The description of an upcoming February event said, “How can we who are White show up as more effective and less damaging participants in struggles to interrupt racism in our community? How can white people engage in efforts to dismantle racism in ways that do not reproduce or place unfair burdens upon people of color to be our teachers?”
It continued, “This conversation is for white people to reflect together on what it means to ‘do our work’ as white people, which includes taking responsibility for one another, educating ourselves, and coming to view other white people as our partners—not competition—in developing antiracist identity.”
At Willamette University, Drew teaches courses about racism and social change. Her research is also focused on racism.
One of her papers described “positioning people of color as knowledge producers about the institutional and interpersonal effects of racism,” “confronting the tactics of white denial,” and “promoting consciousness about systemic racism.”
Drew did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
