The course, called "Confornting Racism", was offered by LinkedIn, from an external provider of HR courses, and Coca Cola utilised that externally supplied course, from LinkedIn.
A CocaCola whistle blower alerted their employer and LinkedIn withdrew the course.
The person who posted the information on twitter describes themselves as one who wants to ban Critical Race Theory. The theory relies on the premise:
"First, that
white supremacy exists and maintains power through the law
Second, that transforming the relationship between law and racial power, as well as achieving racial
emancipation and
anti-subordination more broadly, are possible"
So the teaching on the course, which includes:
“In the U.S. and other Western nations, white people are socialized to feel that they are inherently superior because they are white,”
is in line with that premise. In fact, according to Critical Race Theory, not only are white people taught that they are superior, but the Critical Race Theory suggests that the superiority is maintained through legislation.
Therefore, the following slide, which is the one that raised the concern, could also be considered in line with Critical Race Theory.
Additionally, a leading sociologist was featured in the slides without her knowledge or permission.
The questions, and the issue ought to have been, "Should Critical Race Theory have been the underlying premise on which the course material relies?", and, "Should institutions like CocaCola appraise themselves of such HR courses before utilising them?", and "Should training courses offered by HR training providers be properly vetted to avoid such intellectual infringements of experts' opinion?"
I would argue NO, YES and YES, respectively.
