JANESVILLE, Wis.
Blackhawk Technical College employs a diversity specialist and hosts an annual Diversity Week to help make minority students feel welcome.
But a recent advertisement sent to local homes may have unintentionally undercut its efforts.
The cover of the magazine-style publication featured a photograph of two smiling adults and two children under the following headline: “A Family Affair: BTC is the perfect fit for the White family.”
Most people may have understood the article was about a family named White. But some read it as an assertion the college was particularly good for White people.
Bob Baldwin, a diversity specialist for the Janesville School District, who is Black, said most Black people would have a problem with the wording.
“That’s kind of a natural thing — when you’re White, you don’t think about these things,” Baldwin said. “And people need to start thinking about these things beyond their own comfort level — you know, what about the other folks?”
