A survey circulated within a United Kingdom-based charitable organization reportedly asked staff members to evaluate their whiteness.
The survey, which was distributed to Oxfam’s 1,800 staff members in Great Britain, 88% of whom are white, defined “racism” as “a power construct created by white nations for the benefit of white people” and “whiteness” as “the overarching preservation of power and domination for the benefit of white people and ultimately that which white supremacy serves to protect,” according to the Times.
“At Oxfam GB, the work on racism … is even more important with regards to progressing our wider work on decolonisation,” the survey reportedly said.
Oxfam also said it “does not recognize reverse racism” or racism directed toward white people, the outlet added.
“We oppose racism and other forms of discrimination that blight countless lives around the world and trap people in poverty. Racism makes it harder for people to earn a living, feed their children and put a roof over their heads,” Oxfam said of the survey in an email to the Washington Examiner. “Oxfam Great Britain is working hard to become an anti-racist organisation and this survey is an important part of ensuring that we live up to our values.”
The survey, which also asked respondents to classify themselves as “non-racist,” “anti-racist,” or neither and to state their ethnicity, attracted backlash from some staff members. One employee said she felt “under attack for being white, English and voting Leave” in reference to the 2016 Brexit vote for the U.K. to leave the European Union.
“Surely the time and money should be better spent on the real findings that some of the men they employ are sexual predators?” another employee added.
Earlier this month, Oxfam fired three workers following an investigation into claims the staff members hired prostitutes, issued death threats, and committed fraud in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The contract of a fourth person who was suspended during the investigation expired prior to the end of the investigation, which reportedly upheld allegations against the person.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Other private entities have circulated similar surveys. In February, it was reported that a New York City public school asked parents to take time to “reflect” on their “whiteness,” and Coca-Cola offered racism training techniques that taught the company’s workers how to “be less white.” Coca-Cola later apologized “to those who were offended by this content.”
