Brown University ends no-whites-allowed course after complaint

Brown University has backtracked on offering a “mindfulness” course exclusively to black, Latino and Indigenous students after a complaint was made to the Foundation Against Intolerance & Racism.

Last month’s online “teacher training class in mindfulness-based stress reduction” was open only to “BIPOC” students, which stands for black, indigenous and people of color — although Asian students were not included in that category, the New York Post reported.

Brown reportedly established the course because “mindfulness instruction in the West has historically … failed to include and address the needs, life experiences, and priorities of marginalized communities,” according to a letter from a FAIR attorney Leigh Ann O’Neill.

The anonymous complaint to FAIR read

Brown is offering a RACE-BASED teacher training program that is ONLY open to certain demographics (black, latino, indigenous). The teachers will also only be members of what they call the BIPOC community (with support from senior teachers who may be white). This is a return to educational segregation based on skin color. Financial assistance is NOT being offered to members of other demographics who may not be able to afford the program either. (white & asian). This results in certain demographics being favored over others and is discriminatory.

O’Neill informed Brown President Christina Paxson that “establishing a teacher training program based on skin color or ancestry violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.” Since Brown gets federal aid, it must comply with the act.