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The Baltimore City Health Department (BCDHD) reportedly separated employees into a “White caucus” and “people of color caucus” for a series of taxpayer-funder diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practice.
According to Spotlight on Maryland, a joint investigation unit from The Baltimore Sun, FOX 45 News and WJLA records show the agency paid outside consultants to conduct racial equity training and then advised BCHD to host separate “White caucus” and “people of color caucus” meetings.
The records, obtained by the outlets, show how the city used taxpayer dollars to reportedly help White people understand their “own complicity and systemic racism.”
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According to invoices obtained by Spotlight on Maryland, BCHD reportedly paid roughly $50,000 between 2022 and 2024 for an “Undoing Racism Workshop” led by the Louisiana-based People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond.
In one internal email, a Baltimore City Office of Equity & Civil Rights employee described the organization as “OG radical organizers.”
According to Spotlight on Maryland, the organization paid the People’s Institute to attend and provide feedback for its monthly “White Caucus Group,” which is a “group of White people who meet for the purpose of building analysis, awareness, stamina, and strategy to challenge systemic racism and internalized White supremacy.”
“These goals require some time and intentional spaces where White people can do the personal work of understanding our own complicity and systemic racism and build the skills necessary to challenge that complicity,” the agency’s description of the scheduled meetings reportedly said according to the local reports.
“White affinity groups allow us to examine our racial conditioning without relying on people of color for answers or subjecting them to our process.”
Receipts reviewed by the local outlet reportedly show that BHCD spent more than $2,000 in taxpayer funds on food for a three-day racial equity training hosted by the People’s Institute in November 2024.
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A spokesperson for the People’s Institute defended its role, referring to the meetings as “affinity spaces.”
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“Affinity spaces, or employee resource groups as they are called in the corporate world, have been shown to increase employee engagement and retention. Research on affinity groups demonstrates that members feel more supported by colleagues after participating. These groups create opportunities to share ideas and offer feedback in smaller spaces, which then improves the quality of dialogue and problem solving across the department,” the spokesperson told the outlet.
Fox News Digital has also reached out to the BCDHD for comment.
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