American colleges have established “white accountability groups,” which encourage white students to examine their privilege and be “anti-racist” allies.
University of North Texas is one such university. It had a white accountability group through the Division of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access.
It stated that members of the white accountability group would police other white people’s behavior. It stated that members of the white accountability group would hold their fellow white employees responsible for oppressive behavior and the systems that allow them to continue doing so.
The University of California San Diego has a White Allyship, Action & Accountability initiative. This initiative encourages students “Understand & Examine the Role of White Allies at UC San Diego in addressing Systemic Racism and Anti-Blackness.”
Loyola University Maryland also had white accountability groups. The university’s Office of Equity and Inclusion implied that white students were being used as vessels for white supremacy. It stated that such groups were created to “keep ourselves and the campus accountable as [we] continue to work towards dismantling the white supremacy in all spaces that it lives (even and especially) when it is within us.”
Another university hosting a White Accountability Workshop is the University of St. Thomas. This workshop is designed to help students understand how racism and whiteness affect their lives, and to encourage them to have an “antiracist awakening.”
Dominican University hosted white accountability group earlier in the year. It described it as “an opportunity to individuals who identify themselves as white to engage in dialogue on recognizing their whiteness and white privilege.”
The College of Social Work also hosted a White Student Accountability Group at the University of South Carolina. Turning Point USA reported students attending would “recognize and accept their responsibility to eradicate racism.”
It was reported last year that the University of Tennessee Knoxville had a White Accountability Group. Students would “critically engage” in whiteness and white privilege and hold each other accountable. Students were also asked to “identify internalized dominance and interrupt it.”
Salve Regina University hosted a similar program. The session “Antiracism Accounting for White Identifying employees” discussed how “Waking up and accepting the fact that you are a white person can present many challenges in a diverse setting.”
