Columbia University is offering six separate graduations for students who identify as follows: Black, Asian, “Latinx,” FLI (“first generation/low income), Lavender (LGBT), and Native American. (The university claims these ceremonies exist “in addition to, not instead of, University-wide commencement . . .”)
But Columbia is not alone. At least 70 other colleges across the country offer separate graduations based on race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation.
The schools defend the practice by asserting that the events aren’t segregated in the traditional sense, i.e., the separation isn’t mandatory or enforced by school authorities. In truth, there’s no need. The segregation is self-policing. “Diversity and inclusion” prevails except when superseded by the woke imperatives of “identity.”
Separate graduations, dormitories, and trainings have mushroomed throughout academia in the last few years. For example, last fall the University of Kentucky announced separate trainings for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (“BIPOC” — pro tip: Whenever you see an acronym for a racial grouping, there’s a good probability you’re about to encounter lunacy and/or mischief). The BIPOC training was called “Healing Space for Staff of Color.” The space for white staff was called “White Accountability Space.” No judgments there.
“Critical Race” and segregated trainings are going on throughout the country: K–12, colleges, businesses, and government. When Governor George Wallace of Alabama uttered the infamous phrase, “Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever” more than 50 years ago, it was condemned as a dangerous expression of backward bigotry. Who knew he was prescient?