Ibram
- Activist Ibram X. Kendi’s anti-racist research center at Boston University has laid off up to twenty staff members.
- Boston University confirmed the center has hired 15 to 20 workers as the center moves toward a fellowship model.
- Former and current staff alleged the center was mismanaged
Activist Ibram
Boston University confirmed that the center had laid off 15 to 20 employees out of a staff of 45 as part of its move toward a fellowship model.
“The Center is moving towards a scholarship model. Dr. Kendi remains the director. We can confirm that there have been layoffs at the Vice President of the Center, Rachel Lapal Cavallario told Fox News THURSDAY.
“The University and Center are committed to working with and supporting impacted employees as they seek their next opportunities,” the statement said.
But staff who worked there painted a much less diplomatic picture, saying Kendi had too much power and mistreated those who worked for him.
He suggested that white people should be discriminated against to combat the horrible prejudice previously inflicted on black Americans.
The center opened at BU during the turbulent summer of 2020, when America was facing nationwide protests following the police killing of George Floyd.
Activist Ibram X. Kendi’s anti-racist research center at Boston University has laid off up to twenty staff members.
Former and current staff alleged the center was mismanaged by Kendi
The center opened at BU during the turbulent summer of 2020, when America was facing nationwide protests following the police killing of George Floyd.
Certain former and current employees told the Boston Globe that the center had been mismanaged by Kendi.
“There are many ways to get there, it started very early when the university decided to create a center that rested in the hands of a human being, an individual with millions of dollars and so many authority,” Spencer Piston, the head of the center’s political office told the publication.
Former deputy director of storytelling at the center, 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 exploitative and that other teachers experienced the same thing or worse,” she told the outlet.
Kendi gained recognition in academic circles with his 2019 book “How to Be an Antiracist,” which exploded in popularity during the global movement for racial equality in 2020.
Robert A. Brown, then BU president, said at the time that Kendi’s leadership would “focus on research and policy to help eliminate racism in our country.”
The announcement of Kendi’s hiring was followed by a flood of donations to BU to support the center and Kendi’s work, including a three-year, $1.5 million gift from biotechnology company Vertex and a $10 million donation from Twitter founder Jack Dorsey later this summer.
Former deputy director of storytelling at the center, Saida Grundy, said the center lacked structure and the culture was “exploitative.”
Spencer Piston, head of the center’s political 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 tracking system.
Kendi’s work, particularly 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, I teach people to see racism,” Kendi said on “CBS Mornings.” ” There is a difference. The race is a mirage. Racism is real. And it’s – you know who is most likely to be affected by racism? Our children. Do you know who is least likely to care? Our children. That’s what really drives me to do this work.
