Metro

NYC teachers union’s workshop on ‘harmful effects of whiteness’ canceled after influx of ‘hate’

A controversial seminar about white privilege that had been planned by the city teachers’ union for Monday was abruptly canceled — because its host was inundated with “hate messages and disparaging comments.”

The United Federation of Teachers — which represents more than 190,000 teachers, paraprofessional educators and child care workers in the five boroughs — had planned the virtual “Holding the Weight of Whiteness” seminar for 4 to 6 p.m. before it was postponed over blowback from politicians and online commenters.

Scheduled presenter Erica Sandoval, a Queens licensed clinical social worker, said in a statement that the event addressing the “harmful effects of whiteness in our lives” was canceled when she received “hate messages and disparaging comments being left in my email inbox and on my social media platforms.

“Because of this, UFT expressed concern and we collectively decided to postpone the discussion,” Sandoval said.

The union sent out an email to members Sunday night informing them that the $25 virtual workshop would not go on as scheduled, a source told The Post.

The promotional material for the whiteness workshop.
Literature promotes the ill-fated UFT workshop, which was canceled after some critics labeled it “racist.”

The optional course for licensed mental health professionals was focused on “cultural humility and inclusion” and sought to teach educators “how whiteness relates to privilege and identity, and how both become normalized and invisible,” according to literature promoting the event.

“Participants will leave the workshop with a better understanding of how to center ourselves as a form of resistance against the harmful effects of whiteness in our lives, the organizations we work for or direct, and the communities in which we serve,” according to a promo on Instagram.

Attendees would have earned two hours of credit for their continuing-education resume, which eventually results in higher pay.

Calls and emails to union officials about the nature of the cancellation were not immediately returned.

More than half of the teachers in the nation’s largest school system are white — and tasked with educating a mostly minority student body in which 72% of the students are economically disadvantaged, according to the city DOE.

Sandoval, an Ecuadorian native, told The Post that the event was “misinterpreted by certain members of the UFT and the public at large.”

Psychotherapist Erica Sandoval.
Psychotherapist Erica Sandoval told The Post she intended to “create an open forum” to discuss issues and did not mean to offend anyone.

The “lifelong advocate of diversity, equity, and inclusion” added that she was “open to discussing this further in a public forum sponsored by The Post.

“I would like to clarify that my job was presenting the CE, and had no intention of offending and causing any discomfort to the audience,” Sandoval wrote. “I am a strong advocate for inclusion and love of all human beings and the focus is to unite, restore peace, and heal.”

Local Republican lawmakers such as City Council Minority Leader Joe Borelli and Councilwoman Joann Ariola of Queens had slammed the class with Ariola, blasting the “appalling” decision to “label one racial group as inherently harmful.”

An Instagram post on the UFT’s Member Assistance Program page was taken down after The Post drew attention to the controversy.