White employees of AT&T have been told to read an article saying that they are racist, are told to confess to their ‘white privilege’ and acknowledge ‘systemic racism,’ and must engage with set texts or else they will be penalized in their performance reviews.
John Stankey, who took over as CEO of AT&T in July 2020, has encouraged his staff to make use of an anti-racism education program entitled Listen Understand Act
AT&T, in the aftermath of the George Floyd murder, introduced an internal program called Listen Understand Act.
John Stankey, the CEO of AT&T, wrote to the company’s 230,000 employees in an April 2021 email, obtained by journalist Christopher Rufo and published on his website.
Stankey, who took over as CEO in July 2020, urged his workers to make the most of the resources provided by AT&T’s anti-racism portal.
He wrote that ‘As individuals we can make an impact by doing our part in advancing racial justice and equity for all.’
Listen. Understand. Act.
“We encourage all participants to take part in the recently launched Equality First learning journey, which is a new initiative to raise awareness and to take action on our Stand for Equality value.
Most employees are not forced to engage with the Listen Understand Act program, but managers at AT&T are now assessed annually on diversity issues – with mandatory participation in programs such as discussion groups, book clubs, mentorship programs, and race reeducation exercises, according to Rufo’s source.
AT&T’s headquarters in Dallas, Texas, are pictured. The company donated $21.5 million for causes that promote racial justice.
The source told Rufo that employees are asked to sign a loyalty pledge to ‘keep pushing for change.’
They are encouraged to sign up for ‘intentions’ like’reading more about racism’ and challenging hateful language.
Source: A senior employee who said: “If you don’t do it, then you’re a racist.”
Rufo published several pages using the Listen Understand act portal.
One of the recommended reading items was a May 31, 2020 article from the Chicago Tribune by columnist Dahleen Glanton, entitled: ‘White America, if you want to know who’s responsible for racism, look in the mirror.’
The portal also recommended books such as White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism, by Robin DiAngelo, and White Awake: An Honest Look at What It Means to Be White, by Daniel Hill.
DiAngelo’s book was among those recommended to AT&T employees
In the ‘Act’ section of the training program, Rufo reported, AT&T encourages employees to participate in a ’21-Day Racial Equity Habit Challenge’.
The plan, he said, relies on the concepts of ‘whiteness,’ ‘white privilege,’ and ‘white supremacy’ and those participating must commit to ‘do one action [per day for 21 days]To continue [their]Understanding power, privilege, supremacy and oppression.
The challenge starts with a series lessons on “whiteness,” which claims, among others, that there is “white supremacy.” [is]It is ingrained in our country’s foundation that whiteness is a scam. Minorities are also subject to a constant barrage of harm from the ‘weaponization’ of whiteness.
Participants are instructed to notice their biases and judgments. These are your golden opportunities to dig into your subconscious!
You might also like to read: “Prepare yourself for interrupting racial jokes. Click HERE to find out how.
The authors of the 21 Day Challenge state: ‘We think understanding white privilege is a powerful lens into the complexities of doing social justice work, so we’ve focused our resources on that specific issue.’
A man walks with an umbrella outside of AT&T corporate headquarters on March 13, 2020
AT&T is yet to respond to DailyMail.com’s request for comment about Rufo’s report, but has made no secret of its activist leanings.
On August 23, as part of a comprehensive review of corporate America’s anti-racist activities, The Washington Post reported that AT&T had made lobbying for police reform part of some of their employee’s job.
AT&T’s Western region president, Ken McNeely, told the paper that employees in the legislative and public affairs teams had the lobbying for police reform included in their annual review.
‘Our financial contributions to support police reform is but a slice of the pie,’ McNeely said, after the paper reported AT&T donated $21.5 million to causes advocating racial justice.
‘We actually took a more direct route: Filing testimony or a letter of support in our name — using our brand — is in many instances more impactful than giving money to a third party.’