Pizza Hut, through its Pizza Hut Foundation, is presenting training pamphlets for teachers that make statements such as “Racism exists within and beyond schools and communities of learning,” “The myth of a racial hierarchy remains a dominant part of America’s culture,” and “Acts of violence against Black communities are often identified on social media by the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter.”
In a pamphlet titled, “Empowering Educators: A Guidebook on Race and Racism,” it states, “The Empowering Educators Guidebook provides support for educators seeking to increase their personal awareness of race and racism, as well as direction on how to ground learning environments through inclusive curriculum and diverse, affirming literature.”
The pamphlet refers to America’s history of systemic racism as it talks about the death of George Floyd: “Floyd’s murder, along with other acts of violence against Black men and women leading up to and after his death, spurred global protests as America continues to reckon with its history of police brutality and systemic racism.”
It continues by arguing, “Many antiracist experts note that racism in America is not perpetuated by ‘bad’ people. Rather, racism is maintained by laws, policies, and normalized practices that are upheld consciously and unconsciously by those who knowingly or unknowingly benefit from them,” adding, “Although many people don’t engage in individual acts of racism, they still benefit from racist policies, practices, and social norms.”
It champions the “reality” of intersectionality, writing, “A person who is Black and female, for example, experiences discrimination and disadvantage differently than a person who is White and female. This concept of intersectionality was coined in 1989 by Dr. Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw. She describes how a person’s social identities such as race, class, and gender coincide to create overlapping systems of disadvantage. When developing your awareness, it is important to acknowledge this reality for students, families, and colleagues.”
Quoting the author of “Anti-Bias Education For Young Children and Ourselves,” the pamphlet states, “Children as young as three-years-old begin to show evidence of societal messages affecting how they feel about themselves or their group identity—this is the beginning of internalized superiority or internalized oppression.”
