A college in North Carolina recently required student athletes to watch a video that claimed all white people are racist and that people of color could not be racist.
Now, Davidson College alumni are calling on the college to change how it discusses topics like racism with students in the future, The College Fix reported. Not only were student athletes required to watch the film, titled “I’m Not Racist… Am I?” but they were required to do so on a Sunday, outside of normal school hours.
At one point in the film, a clip of which was posted on X by writer Steve McGuire, an Asian student suggests that it’s not just white people who are racist against minorities, but that minorities can be racist against white people. The facilitator then tells her that such acts are “bigotry,” not racism.
“We would also say that it’s only white people that could be racist, that are racist, and that people of color cannot be,” the facilitator goes on to say.
The students in the discussion show little reaction, and another facilitator jumps in to drive the point home.
“Let me tell you what he’s not saying on the second part,” the second facilitator says. “He’s not saying that people of color can’t be bigots, can’t express racial prejudice, can’t try to engage in acts of discrimination against white people, can’t do real, real stupid things filled with hate. We’re saying that collectively, blacks, Latinos, and other groups do not have the power to collectively oppress white people through the use of our systems.”
The Davidsonians for Freedom of Thought and Discourse (DFTD), a free speech organization run by alumni of the college, told the Fix that students they spoke to who saw the film “found it offensive, divisive, and personally insulting.”
The organization made clear that it “does not object to discussions among teammates or anyone on any topic, including weaponized definitions of racism,” but that compelling students “to do so, guided only by the extremist views of the film producer, is a hazardous way to go about it.”
The organization also asked: “Will those teammates classified as ‘the oppressed’ and ‘the oppressor’ continue to trust and respect each other?”
The DFTD also began a petition in February advocating for students’ academic freedom and for the college to stop injecting “controversial ‘anti-oppression’ behaviors” into unrelated courses, such as Spanish and biology.
“We, the undersigned, urge Davidson College to adopt a set of policies and guidelines on student rights that comports with the American Association of University Professor’s statement on academic freedom that guards against the ability of faculty to introduce into their teaching controversial matter which has no relation to their subject,” the organization wrote. “Further, we ask that the college adopt policies that limit the ability of staff or departments to compel students to participate in events or engage in activities that are political or ideological in nature and that are not a standard part of training or education.”
Davidson College told the Fix that the video merely exposed students to different perspectives and beliefs.
“Students encounter many ideas, perspectives, and beliefs about the world at college, and even though a reading or event is assigned, that does not mean that anyone at the college expects students to agree with every idea they encounter,” the college said in a statement. “Learning – and teamwork – is about exploring different ideas, countering with better ones, and expanding knowledge.”
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