400 Penn State professors sign letter SUPPORTING anti-racism education, attack colleague’s lawsuit

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Zack De Piero, who is white, claimed he was racially discriminated againstPenn State’s ‘anti-racism faculty support letter’ criticizes his lawsuit

Some 400 Pennsylvania State University faculty have signed a letter supporting anti-racism teaching and administrative practices currently targeted by a former colleague’s lawsuit against the college.

Penn State’s ‘anti-racism faculty support letter’ criticizes Zack De Piero, 40, a former English teacher on the college’s Abington campus, and a lawsuit he filed claiming he and other white staff were racially discriminated against.

The 36-page lawsuit of De Piero, who served as an assistant professor of English and composition on campus, claims he was forced to teach that “the English language is racist and embodies white supremacy.”

He also alleges he was forced to categorize “Hispanic and black” students differently and was subjected to exercises that centered on critical race theory where white staff felt “terrible.”

The letter criticizing De Piero and his lawsuit, which was filed in June in District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, says it is just another example of “attacks by reactionaries who claim that the programs, programs and initiatives aimed at promoting inclusiveness and equity are racist and divisive.

Zack De Piero, 40 – an English professor who worked at Pennsylvania State University – is suing the college for racial discrimination against him and other white staff. The lawsuit against Penn State was filed earlier this month in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District. from Pennsylvania

The nearly 400 signatories to the letter include faculty at Penn State campuses in Erie, Fayette, University Park and Brandywine. Professors from the University of Michigan as well as other institutions

However, as of June 12, only three faculty members at the Abingdon campus where De Piero taught had signed their names to the letter, The College Fix reported.

The 36-page lawsuit details a June 2020 exercise in which white teachers were told they were privileged because they could “breathe” when George Floyd could not.

The lawsuit alleges an education equity administrator ‘identified ‘those of us with privileged racial identities’ who ‘need to sit there longer,’ and she led the faculty in a breathing exercise in which she instructed ‘white and non-black people of color to hold it just a little longer to feel the pain.’

Another allegation in the lawsuit claims De Piero, who taught inner-city schools before teaching at Penn State, was pressured into ensuring consistent grades for students of all colors or it would demonstrate racism .

The lawsuit does not address any of the specific claims made by De Piero, but attacks De Piero’s law firm, The Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism, stating that the identities of its donors are withheld.

The letter states, “Through divisive and fabricated arguments, this group attempts to undermine and vilify faculty members who have dedicated their careers to addressing systemic racism in higher education while creating a welcoming environment for historically marginalized groups.

Zack De Piero, 40, a former English teacher at the college’s Abington campus, claimed he and other white staff had faced racial discrimination

“To achieve their fallacious aims, these reactionary forces have sought to militarize the courts.”

“We faculty at institutions of higher education across the United States,” he adds, “stand in solidarity with our colleagues at Penn State who have embraced the continued efforts in diversity, equity, and Belonging (DEIB), which should be in addition to, not a substitute for, affirmative action and anti-racism programs and policies.

The details of the lawsuit indicate that De Piero’s family was “actively discriminated against – instilling a lifelong commitment to treating all Americans equally.” De Piero is the son of first generation Italian immigrants.

The 40-year-old said that after alerting the university to his perceived discrimination, officials allegedly retaliated by filing a bullying and harassment complaint against him and giving him lower grades on his annual performance review.

“When he complained about the steady stream of racial slurs directed at white faculty in the writing department, the director of the Office of Affirmative Action told him there was a problem with the white race,” the lawsuit alleged.

He added that he “should take ‘anti-racist’ workshops until [he] gets it,” and that he might have mental health issues.

According to the court filing, some of the workshops included a presentation titled “White teachers are a problem.”

De Piero now works as an Assistant Professor of English at Northampton Community College

De Piero told Fox News last month that because he was white, he was “inherently flawed based on history.”

“As a white individual, I am in some way responsible for all the injustice and suffering right now in the world and in the history of the world,” he said.

“I think there’s almost a religious, bigoted environment where you had that original sin. In that case, I’m white. I need to repent for that sin.

‘I have to keep going to these [trainings]keep doing the work, i think they were running a psychological warfare campaign and they were trying to break people down and they almost broke me, but they didn’t.

He was furious with his treatment after dedicating his career to working with disadvantaged and marginalized communities at work and in his personal life.

“How dare you put someone down based on their natural characteristics over which they have no control,” De Piero told the outlet.

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