Academics

‘White Tears’ And ‘White Fragility’, University Of Cincinnati To Educate Students About Racism

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The University of Cincinnati is taking a leap into the subjects surrounding race and racism. This spring semester, the institution is going to host a workshop to help teach students about "White Tears" and "White Fragility."

The workshop is titled "White Fragility, White Tears and White Allies: Learning to Manage Emotion in Difficult Conversations About Race and Racism." The term "white tears" is a phrase that refers to defensive moves Caucasian people make when confronted by racial issues. This then causes them emotional stress. This workshop is reportedly one of the 21 inclusive excellence workshops that is being sponsored by the university, as reported by the Daily Caller.

The phrase "white tears" is now made popular among social justice warriors who wants to raise awareness on the issue. The term is a means to insult Caucasian people in a condescending manner. It also describes what happens when certain types of Caucasians either complain about a nonexistent racial injustice or are upset by a non-white person's success at the supposed expense of a white person.

One story that made the headlines, in relation to the term, is about an African American student refusing to tip a Caucasian waitress and mocked her for getting upset.

The workshop is headed by Ainsley Lambert-Swain, a Ph.D. student who currently studies sociology in the University of Cincinnati. The content of the workshop is not yet being revealed by the university, as reported by Heatstreet.

Lambert-Swain has a background in race theory, inequality, interaction and microaggressions. She has a published paper on "Racial Microaggressions and the Reconstruction of Racial Hierarchies." Students who are interested to join the other excellence workshops can find other topics such as "Microaggressions and Unconscious Bias in the Classroom and Beyond," and "35 Dumb Things Well-Intended People Say."

In the meantime, here is a TEDx Talk by Gurdeep Parhar, where he discusses why racism is at the root of many of humanity’s evils:

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