The Baltimore City Health Department reportedly held separate "White caucus" and "people of color caucus" meetings as part of taxpayer-funded DEI training, according to a Spotlight on Maryland investigation. Records show roughly $50,000 was paid between 2022 and 2024 for an "Undoing Racism Workshop" led by the People's Institute for Survival and Beyond, and more than $2,000 was spent on food for a three-day November 2024 training. Internal documents describe the White caucus as a space for White employees to examine complicity in systemic racism, while the People's Institute defended the sessions as affinity spaces that can improve engagement and problem solving.
Report: Baltimore Health Department Held Separate "White" and "People of Color" DEI Caucus Meetings
Baltimore City Health Department held racially segregated equity meetings: report
The Baltimore City Health Department (BCHD) reportedly organized separate racial "caucus" meetings for White staff and staff of color as part of taxpayer-funded diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programming, according to a joint local investigation.
Investigation Findings
Spotlight on Maryland — a collaboration of The Baltimore Sun, FOX 45 News and WJLA — reviewed internal records and invoices that indicate BCHD contracted outside consultants to run racial equity training and recommended hosting both a "White caucus" and a "people of color caucus." The records say the sessions were intended to help White employees "understand their own complicity and systemic racism."
Spotlight on Maryland states that the organization paid the People's Institute to attend and provide feedback for a monthly group.(Getty Images)
Invoices obtained by the outlets show BCHD paid roughly $50,000 between 2022 and 2024 for an "Undoing Racism Workshop" led by the New Orleans–based People's Institute for Survival and Beyond. Receipts reviewed by reporters also show the department spent more than $2,000 in taxpayer funds on food for a three-day racial equity training held in November 2024.
Descriptions And Internal Communications
Documents describe a monthly "White Caucus Group" as "a group of White people who meet for the purpose of building analysis, awareness, stamina, and strategy to challenge systemic racism and internalized White supremacy." The agency’s written description reportedly stated these sessions allow White staff to "do the personal work of understanding our own complicity" without relying on colleagues of color.
The cupola of Baltimore City Hall is seen amid the skyline in Baltimore.
In an internal email obtained by reporters, a staffer from the Baltimore City Office of Equity & Civil Rights described the People's Institute as "OG radical organizers."
Response And Context
A spokesperson for the People's Institute defended the gatherings to Spotlight on Maryland, calling them "affinity spaces" and likening them to employee resource groups that can improve engagement, retention and departmental dialogue. "Affinity spaces... have been shown to increase employee engagement and retention," the spokesperson said, adding that these groups can help participants feel more supported and improve problem-solving.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Baltimore City Health Department for comment; the department had not provided a public response in the reporting cited.
What This Means: The reports raise questions about how public funds are used for DEI initiatives and how government agencies structure internal conversations about race. Supporters of affinity groups cite benefits in staff retention and dialogue; critics question the use of taxpayer dollars and the practice of separating employees by race.
Help us improve.
