Left-wing academic Robin DiAngelo was paid 70% more than her black counterpart during a college event the two spoke at that focused on “racial equity” and disparities, Campus Reform reported.
DiAngelo, who is white and is renowned for coining the term “white fragility,” spoke alongside author Austin Channing Brown at a virtual event hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Diversity Forum, according to Campus Reform. To speak at the event, titled, “The Pandemic Effect: Exposing Racism & Inequities,” DiAngelo was paid $12,750 while Brown was paid $7,500, nearly 40% less than DiAngelo, who charges steep fees for her appearances.
The two were represented by the same agency, which the University told Campus Reform decides the speaking fees. The University also added that the goal of the event, which 3,300 people attended, was to “improve campus climate and ensure all members of our community are able to thrive.”
Once again, @UWMadison demonstrates how little they value the work of BIPOC folx.
Paying a white keynote speaker nearly DOUBLE what they paid a black woman for the same thing is a perfect representation of just how fake their “equity and diversity” initiatives are. pic.twitter.com/qrIYbrHWEv
— UW Madison BIPOC Coalition (@UWBIPOCCo) December 6, 2020
Thanks for sharing this feedback. In this case and others, speaker fees are set by the agency that represents the speaker. @uw_diversity
— UW–MaskUp (@UWMadison) December 6, 2020
Brown is the author of “I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness,” a New York Times bestseller that is about bringing “the Black American experience into center stage” as “nearly all institutions … claim to value ‘diversity’ in their mission statements” but fall short when it comes to action.
DiAngelo has previously charged $12,000, not counting travel and other expenses, to speak at the University of Kentucky for a two-hour racial justice session, where she would also discuss her book “White Fragility: Why is it so hard for white people to talk about racism?” She also charges $320 per hour for phone calls. (RELATED: $12K A Day: How White Liberals Profit From Pushing ‘White Privilege’)
The event at the University of Wisconsin took place Oct. 27 and 28, and DiAngelo led with a keynote that would address how “white fragility” prevents white people from “moving towards greater racial equity.” There were three breakout sessions with subjects including campus activism, racial disparities during the pandemic, and “racism on campus and beyond.”
DiAngelo’s speaking fees typically run between $10,000 and $15,000, and her clients have included Amazon, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the YMCA Seattle Public Schools, among others. She was slated to deliver a three-and-a-half hour racial justice workshop at the University of Connecticut in the fall, charging $20,000 for the event that would focus on “anti-black racism” and equity initiatives.
Most recently, leaked documents showed that DiAngelo’s book on “white fragility” had been a component of the San Diego Unified School Districts’ “white privilege” trainings for teachers, according to Christopher Rufo.
After watching clips of Robin DiAngelo and Ibram Kendi, the trainers tell the teachers: “you are racist,” “you are upholding racist ideas, structures, and policies,” and that they must commit to becoming “antiracist” in the classroom. They must submit to the new racial orthodoxy. pic.twitter.com/EEFNc0H1em
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) December 3, 2020
“Racism is the foundation of Western society; we are socialized into a racial hierarchy,” DiAngelo’s website says in the consulting and keynotes section.