Ibram
- Boston University activist Ibram X. Kendi’s anti-racist research center has laid off 20 staff members
- Boston University confirmed the center has created 15 to 20 employees as the center moves toward a fellowship model
- Former and current staff claimed the center was poorly managed
Awoke activist Ibram
Boston University confirmed that the center has laid off 15 to 20 employees out of a workforce of 45 as it moves toward a fellowship model.
‘The Center is evolving towards a fellowship model. Dr. Kendi remains the director. We can confirm that there have been layoffs of Center Vice President Rachel Lapal Cavallario told Fox News on Thursday.
“The university and center are committed to working with and supporting affected employees as they seek their next opportunities,” the statement said.
But staff who worked there painted a much less diplomatic picture, claiming that Kendi had been given too much power and that he mistreated those who worked for him.
He infamously suggested that white people should be discriminated against to address the horrific prejudice previously inflicted on black Americans.
The center opened at BU during the turbulent summer of 2020, as America reckoned with nationwide protests over the police killing of George Floyd.
Boston University activist Ibram X. Kendi’s anti-racist research center has laid off 20 staff members
Former and current staff alleged that the center was poorly managed by Kendi
The center opened at BU during the turbulent summer of 2020, as America reckoned with nationwide protests over the police killing of George Floyd
Some former and current employees told the Boston Globe that the center was poorly managed by Kendi.
“There are a number of ways it got to this point. “It started very early when the university decided to create a center that rested in the hands of one person, an individual who was given millions of dollars and so much authority,” says Spencer Piston. , the faculty leader of the center’s policy office told the publication.
Former assistant director of Narrative at the centre, Saida Grundy, said the center lacked structure and the culture was “exploitative” as she was asked to work unreasonable hours.
“It became very clear after I started that this was exploitation and that other faculty were experiencing the same thing and worse,” she told the outlet.
Kendi gained recognition in academic circles with his 2019 book “How To Be An Antiracist,” which exploded in popularity amid the global movement for racial equality in 2020.
Then-BU President Robert A. Brown said at the time that Kendi’s leadership would “place a critical emphasis on research and policy to help eliminate racism in our country.”
Kendi’s hiring announcement was followed by an outpouring of donations to BU in support of the center and Kendi’s work, including a three-year $1.5 million gift from the biotech company Vertex and a $10 million donation from Twitter founder Jack Dorsey later that summer.
Former assistant director of the story at the center, Saida Grundy, said the center lacked structure and the culture was “exploitative.”
Spencer Piston, faculty leader of the center’s policy office, said Kendi had too much power in the organization
A few months later, the Rockefeller Foundation donated $1.5 million over two years to help fund the center’s COVID-19 Racial Data Tracker.
Kendi’s work, especially his children’s book “Antiracists Baby,” has been criticized for teaching children controversial critical race theory.
Kendi defended his books in June 2022 as a way to teach people, including children, to “see racism.”
“Well, actually, teaching people to see racism,” Kendi said on “CBS Mornings.” ‘There is a difference. Race is a mirage. Racism is real. And it’s – you know who is most likely to be harmed by racism? Our children. Do you know who is least likely to engage in it? Our children. That’s what really convinces me to do this work.’