Michigan university segregates white students and ‘people of color’ for talks on race

A Michigan university segregated students for discussions this week about race and racism.

University of Michigan-Dearborn said Wednesday it regrets terms used to describe virtual “cafe” events that separated white students and “persons of color.” The events were intended to “allow students the opportunity to connect to process current events, share their experiences related to race, share knowledge and resources and brainstorm solutions,” according to the university.

“The original intent was to provide students from marginalized communities a space that allowed for them to exist freely without having to normalize their lives and experiences, while also providing students that do not identify as persons of color the opportunity to deepen their understanding of race and racism without harming or relying on students of color to educate them,” the university said in a statement.

The events quickly drew backlash.

Abed Ayoub, a legal and policy director for the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, tweeted screenshots of information that described the events as a “Non-(people of color) Cafe” and “Black, Indigenous and People of Color Cafe.”

The university said it never intended for the events to exclude students of a certain race and both were available to everyone on campus.

“The terms used to describe these virtual events and the descriptions themselves were not clear and not reflective of the university’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion,” the university’s statement said. “University of Michigan-Dearborn is committed to fostering and maintaining an inclusive campus environment and encourages ongoing dialogue amongst our students, faculty and staff on challenging issues.”

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