A vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion at MaineHealth, one of the largest hospital systems in the State of Maine which serves a predominantly White community, blasted executives' Whiteness and claimed that the racial group of people need to be subjected to "sensitivity" training in order to create a "safe space."
During an antiracist training, Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Ryan Polly blasted White leadership at "predominately White" corporations for purportedly behaving in a way he described as "Whiteness." He further claimed that White people are uncomfortable being associated with people of color.
Dr. Stanley Goldfarb of Do No Harm, a medical group seeking to restore the medical field to its founding ideals, said, "Polly describes the working environment at Maine Medical Center as if we were living in the 1930s. He assumes that critical race theory is at work in his institution and that his only relationship with Black individuals is as an oppressor. This leads to him demeaning himself and his institution."
A MaineHealth insider, who spoke to Fox News Digital on the condition of anonymity, said they believed Polly's statements were consistent with the brand of DEI the vice president has been "pushing" onto staff. MaineHealth maintains a workforce of over 20,000 employees.
For example, Polly said that "White executives" should not have the power to "speak constantly about DEI issues." He further added every White person needed to take a hard look at their "Whiteness" lens.
"I think what I encourage White people who are new to this to think about is your lens first. Like, turn the mirror on yourself first. If you've never thought about your Whiteness and how it impacts the space you're interacting with, that's a starting place," he said.
"I'm not suggesting we want to have all the White executives in power own it and speak constantly. We do need to create a space and teach the skills of learning, listening."
The term Whiteness derives from critical race theory. It refers to how "White people, their customs, culture, and beliefs operate," according to an explainer from the Smithsonian.
Whiteness also speaks to the supposed privilege category the racial group are alleged to be placed in since the White-dominant culture "operates as a social mechanism that grants advantages to White people."
MaineHealth released a statement to Fox News Digital affirming its "commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion [which] stems from our organizational values, mission and vision."
"This work strengthens our connections with patients and ultimately helps us to deliver higher-quality care. Consistent with our value of Respect and our role as an institution of learning, we welcome and encourage divergent viewpoints and dialogue among our patients and care team."
Polly claimed that "White leadership" acts in a way that exhibits "Whiteness" because they are "uncomfortable making relationships with people who aren't White."
"I find that many times a lot of White leaders just don't have a network of relationships outside of Whiteness," he said.
"I think that organizations that are very White – particularly when you look at your White leadership – needs to start to do, is start to get uncomfortable making relationships with people that aren't White," he said. "I mean, there's a need for our White leaders to create those bridges and build relationships."
"It’s not surprising that the discussion would include ‘safe spaces’ and criticism of leadership with a statement like ‘many White leaders just don’t have a network outside of Whiteness.’ It’s just another example of Polly’s ideological nonsense that has been relentlessly piled up and imposed onto all of us at MaineHealth," the MaineHealth insider said.
"In this webinar, Ryan Polly exposes the divisive initiatives that have been launched at MaineHealth to separate people according to their identities and actually create more barriers than there ever were before," the insider added.
Polly also suggested that corporations should bring in specifically "Black-owned" consulting groups to deal with the "systemic racism" at the institutions.
Dr. Goldfarb said, "[Polly] begs forgiveness for the fact that Maine has very few Black citizens and therefore very little opportunity for Black leadership of the hospital. The job of Maine Medical Center is to figure out how to provide the best health care for the citizens of Maine. Bringing in consulting groups to mollify employees and install DEI regimens as he proposes wastes precious resources and valuable time.
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