The Department of Justice Civil Rights Division announced it was launching an investigation into the Baltimore City Health Department for possibly violating the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by holding racially segregated work training sessions. The BCHD is accused of engaging in workplace activities that discriminated “against, or limit, segregate, or classify, employees because of their race, color, and national origin,” a violation of federal law. 

Information obtained by the DOJ revealed that the BCHD separated employees into groups “based on race, color, and national origin” for the department’s “racial equity training.” The two groups were a “white caucus” and a “people of color” caucus. The white caucus is described as 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.”