A federal lab reportedly hosted a three-day mandatory training for its white male executives where they were instructed to apologize for their privilege, along with other tasks such as acknowledging the connection between “white male culture” and mass killings, per leaked documents reported by Christopher Rufo.
Sandia National Laboratories, which assesses the United States’ nuclear weapons and is a government contractor, hosted the training in 2019 at the La Posada luxury resort. It was here that the laboratory required its white male executives to participate in the “White Men’s Caucus on Eliminating Racism, Sexism, and Homophobia in Organizations” training, Rufo reported on his website after receiving the documents.
The “caucus” was instructed by the organization White Men as Full Diversity Partners (WMFDP), according to the leaked documents. WMFDP claims it “transforms mindsets and behaviors to help organizations sustain truly inclusive cultures” in its Twitter bio.
The group is also promoting its next event in September, another “White Men’s Caucus,” which it describes as “an immersive 3.5 day residential program for up to 18 white men. Ideally, a work group.”
Twenty years ago, Ronnie made the investment of a lifetime carving out 4 days to attend a White Men’s Caucus.
Make the time. Invest in our collective humanity.
Seats available for our September 14-17 virtual caucus: https://t.co/09f4alJcfA
— WMFDP (@wmfdp) August 11, 2020
A ticket to the event is $3,000. It purports to teach participants to “recognize themselves as individuals and as members of the white male group” and “gain a systematic perspective and understanding of the costs of racism, sexism, heterosexism, oppression and unexamined privilege.”
“Those 4 days changed who I am. What I thought about the world. To this day, I have a richer experience in work and life.”
What 4 days is Ronnie talking about? The White Men’s Caucus he attended 20 years ago. https://t.co/vNBxzzD4xR
— WMFDP (@wmfdp) August 11, 2020
The leaked documents indicate the training kicked off by instructing the men to make a list of associations about white male culture, followed by the trainers writing “white supremacists,” “KKK,” “Aryan Nation,” “MAGA hat,” “privileged” and “mass killings.”
As promised in the event details, trainers informed those present that white males must “work hard to understand” their privilege for being white, male and/or heterosexual. The trainers then implied that although white men are associated with domestic terrorists, they benefit from a range of positive stereotypes that “far outweigh the Tim McVeighs and Ted Kaczynskis of white maleness,” per the documents.
White male culture is reportedly characterized as “rugged individualism,” “a can-do attitude,” “hard work” and “striving towards success” — all of which are “devastating” to women and people of color.
White male culture also leads to a series of afflictions such as “lowered quality of life at work and home, reduced life expectancy, unproductive relationships, and high stress,” the documents suggest.
During the training, the white men were instructed to publicly recite multiple “white privilege statements” and “male privilege statements” the report says. The stated goal is to prompt men to accept their complicity in creating oppressions. (RELATED: Trump Agency Pushes Gender-Neutral Pronouns On Employees, Instructs Them On ‘Gender Spectrum,’ Leaked Docs Show)
Among the valedictory exercises for the conference is a letter-writing activity, which instructed the white men to address “white women, people of color, and other groups regarding the meaning of this Caucus experience.”
The men then reportedly apologize for their “privilege” and pledge to become “better [allies].”
The Daily Caller reached out for comment from both Sandia National Laboratories and WMFDP.
“Inclusion and diversity are defining elements of Sandia National Laboratories’ culture, which welcomes multiple perspectives, promotes different working styles and leads to the innovation in science, engineering and technology for which we are known,” a Sandia National Laboratories spokesperson told the Caller.
White Men as Full Diversity Partners did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.