UNO prof to speak against 'white supremacist' Trump 'regime'

The University of Nebraska at Omaha will soon host a workshop for “anti-racist allies” to develop “action plans” that confront America’s “foundation of systemic oppression" in the context of "the current political climate."

The upcoming “Anti-Racist Allies” workshop was inspired by a recent book titled Rhetorics of Whiteness by UNO professor Tammie Kennedy, who will lead the discussion on “taking action against white supremacy.”

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“In light of the current political climate, the understanding of racism has been shaken, and revealed what many people of color have known and named for generations,” namely that “the United States was built on a foundation of systemic oppression that has deeply normalized white supremacy,” a description for the event asserts.

Workshop participants will learn how to “work as collaborators to create an action plan that can be used in various communities” while developing “anti-racist maneuvers that focus on systemic racism, white supremacy, and misogyny.”

According to the event page, attendees will be expected to “begin to articulate how” they as allies can “recognize and dismantle normative whiteness and unexamined bias” or “work towards undoing the racism many white people have been raised with and have internalized.”

Other objectives for the workshop include helping “white folks transform their ignorance and defensiveness into greater consciousness and motivation” with an added expectation of listening “to communities of color about their anger, mistrust, and needs from allies without burdening them for answers about ‘what to do.’”

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“If there [were] ever a time for people to take action to help upend racism and misogynist practices, this is it,” organizers of the event explain, saying they hope participants will learn how to “sustain a new resistance that will outlast the white supremacist and misogynist regime we now find ourselves under.”

UNO Associate Director of Media Relations Charley Reed told Campus Reform that “we provide access to a number of facilities where any faculty, students, or staff can reserve space in order to hold events that speak to their interests,” but neglected to specify whether the university was involved in coordinating the “Anti-Racist Allies” event at any level.

Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @AGockowski