Did Coca-Cola have a ‘how to be less white’ training?

COCA-Cola is facing mounting backlash after the company told it’s employee in an online training seminar to “try to be less white” in an effort to combat racism discrimination.

In a training program, Coca-Cola provided employees with tips on how “to be less white,” including being “less ignorant,” and “less oppressive”.

What did Coca Cola say about being ‘less white’?

On February 20, explained how the training was intended to promote a more inclusive work place for its employees.

“The video and images attributed to a Coca-Cola training program are not part of the company’s learning curriculum,” the company said in a statement to the .

“Our Better Together global training is part of a learning plan to help build an inclusive workplace. It is comprised of a number of short vignettes, each a few minutes long.

“The training includes access to the LinkedIn Learning platform on a variety of topics, including on diversity, equity and inclusion.

“The video in question was accessible on the LinkedIn Learning platform but was not part of the company’s curriculum,” the company added.

“We will continue to listen to our employees and refine our learning programs as appropriate.”

What did Coca-Cola’s employee online training platform say?

Photos of Coca-Cola’s online training seminar were shared on social media this week, showing slides that featured tips on how “to be less white,” including being “less ignorant,” and “less oppressive”.

“To be less white is to” read one slide, while listing things like “be less arrogant, be less certain, be less defensive, be more humble, listen, believe, break with apathy,” and “break with white solidarity”.

Another slide read, “Confronting racism: understanding what it means to be white, challenging what it means to be racist.”

“In the and other Western nations, white people are socialized to feel that they are inherently superior because they are white,” another slide shared on social media read.

“Research shows that by age 3 to 4, children understand that it is better to be white,” it continued.

What have people on social media said?

On February 19, Karlyn Borysenko, an activist who supports banning critical race theory, shared images from an internal whistleblower of the company’s online racism training.

The shared training slides were met with a mix of approval and outcries, with some people saying they would consider buying more Coke products after the slides and others threatening to boycott the company.

Outspoken commentator blasted the company, saying, “If a corporate company sent around a training kit instructing black people how to “be less black,” the world would implode and lawsuits would follow.

“I genuinely hope these employees sue @CocaCola for blatant racism and discrimination,” she wrote on Twitter.

A critic wrote, “This is a gold mine for any decent civil rights lawyer. Where are the lawsuits??”

Another person tweeted, “Just drunk my last Coke product…this one is worth joining the Cancel Culture. Not sure I can be ‘less white’, but I can be Coke Zero sans the Coke part.”

One spectator disagreed with the way Coca-Cola chose to go about their training seminar, “This is terrible. There are ways to address racism and discrimination, but this isn’t it.”