Civil servants handed reading list to help them 'confront their privilege'
1 November 2021, 09:45 | Updated: 1 November 2021, 10:26
A reading list has been supplied to civil servants to help them "confront their privilege".
Employees have been advised to read books that help them "gain a deeper understanding of racism and the anti-racist work that needs to be done" as they "admit their place in a system of oppression", according to the Mail on Sunday.
They have also been told not to use the phrase 'black mark' to indicate a misdemeanour.
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More than 60 books and articles are said to be featured with titles including White Fragility: Why It's So Hard To Talk To White People About Racism.
It was reportedly circulated by a staff group called the Civil Service Race Forum.
More literature includes Building A Police-Free Future: Frequently Asked Questions, the US title In Defense Of Looting; and Are Prisons Obsolete? and It's Time To Confront The 'Karen' In All Of Us: Unpacking White Privilege.
The reading list, revealed by a concerned whistleblower working at the Office for National Statistics (ONS), reportedly says: "This list of resources is intended to help white people gain a deeper understanding of racism and the anti-racist work that needs to be done.
"To be anti-racist is to be actively opposed to racism. It means confronting our white privilege and admitting our place in a system of oppression."
It adds: "We are all (un)learning at our own pace. But when the consequences of our ignorance are bound up in the continued discrimination, violence, and murders of Black people, we must work harder."
A spokesman for the ONS confirmed it had been shared with staff but "did not reflect official guidance".
He added: "As an inclusive employer, we encourage the sharing of ideas and respectful open discussion but will take action should concerns be raised."
