N.C. State Has a Political Litmus Test for its New Microbiology Professor
“Two-page statement that demonstrates your knowledge of antiracism” – Faculty application requirement, N.C. State University Department of Biology Sciences
“If discrimination is creating equity, then it is antiracist.” – Ibram X. Kendi, whom N.C. State University labeled a thought leader in the antiracism movement
“If a person doesn't agree with a certain agenda that's centered on [antiracism], those people deserve to be shamed, possibly even dismissed from their positions.” – Columbia University Professor John McWhorter, on how antiracism adherents view dissenters
N.C. State University is hiring an Assistant Teaching Professor in Microbiology. That professor must express adherence to a controversial political ideology before he or she teaches students about science.
The fourth bullet on the lengthy job posting – before any discussion of qualifications or job duties – is this:
“In addition to your application please submit the following: …Two-page statement that demonstrates your knowledge of evidence-based pedagogy, antiracism and equity-based teaching, the actions you have taken in the past to support these efforts, and your plans for implementing antiracism and equity-based practice in your teaching and professional interactions.”
It’s not clear what antiracism, a political ideology, has to do with microbiology, a life science.
What is clear is that N.C. State University will not hire a microbiologist who isn’t also familiar with antiracism, has a demonstrated history of supporting antiracism, and is committed to “implementing” antiracism in all professional and teaching interactions.
'If discrimination is creating equity, then it is antiracist'
For the unfamiliar, “antiracism” does not mean against racism. It does not mean “not racist.”
Antiracism is a political and ideological doctrine that leading scholar John McWhorter, a Columbia University professor who is black, likened to a new religion.
Antiracism doctrine’s seminal work, “How to Be an Antiracist,” was authored by Ibram X. Kendi, Director and Founder of Boston University’s Center for Antiracist Research.
Antiracism posits that any outcome in which white people and black people do not share proportionate benefits is, by definition, racist. Whether a policy discriminates on the basis of race is immaterial so long as it produces a racially proportional outcome.
Kendi writes, “The defining question is whether the discrimination is creating equity or inequity. If discrimination is creating equity, then it is antiracist. If discrimination is creating inequity, then it is racist.”
There is no in between, and there is no room for dissent.
McWhorter, the Columbia University professor, likened antiracism doctrine to a religion because, “If a person doesn't agree with a certain agenda that's centered on [antiracism], to the expense of everything else, then those people deserve to be shamed, possibly even dismissed from their positions. And in general, stripped of their epaulets.”
Kendi is ‘a thought leader in racial equity and antiracism’
One might wonder if N.C. State understands the true tenets of antiracism doctrine. Might university administrators be describing their desire for a new microbiology professor to be “antiracist” in the colloquial sense – that is, simply somebody is not a racist?
The university itself answered that question, and the answer is “no.”
The university itself describes Kendi as “a thought leader in racial equity and antiracism.”
The university itself invited Kendi to be a keynote speaker at “the most well-attended campus MLK event in recent memory.”
The university’s vice provost, Sheri Schwab, “personally delivered copies of Kendi’s book to fellow university leaders.”
The university itself wrote publicly of “the chaos of White America beginning to realize that Kendi’s analysis is sound.”
N.C. State University, then, requires a microbiology professor to profess adherence to a political ideology, and promise to evangelize that ideology to students and peers, in order to gain employment.
How many qualified microbiologists will N.C. State University withhold from students because they do not agree with, or even know about, antiracism doctrine? Why is employment in a life sciences position premised on political beliefs?
We do not believe that an adherent to antiracism doctrine should be denied employment at N.C. State. But we do believe that antiracism doctrine is a controversial political ideology that has high-powered and clear-headed dissenters, including multiple professors at Ivy League universities.
A public university that purports to care about diversity of thought and perspective should not require its faculty to subscribe to a political ideology in order to gain employment.
There’s something wrong.
