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MMB removes controversial "white supremacy" article from manager training, commissioner orders review
Summary
Minnesota Management and Budget Commissioner Erin Campbell told lawmakers that an optional reading titled "White Supremacy Culture, Still Here" was removed from manager and supervisor core training on Feb. 11 and that MMB has launched a review of training materials and the process that allowed the article's inclusion.
Erin Campbell, commissioner of Minnesota Management and Budget, told the State Government Finance and Policy Committee on March 4 that MMB removed an optional reading titled "White Supremacy Culture, Still Here" from manager and supervisor core training on Feb. 11 after learning it contained political characterizations and language she described as inappropriate.
The article "included political content, characterizations, and commentary regarding the Republican party and Christian faith that were inappropriate and were not consistent with MMB's values or with state training requirements," Campbell told the committee. "To be clear this article should never have been used in any state sponsored training environment and I really deeply regret that it was included in manager and supervisor core training. As soon as the article was brought to the attention of MMB leadership, we directed enterprise talent and development to remove it from all enterprise trainings and supporting materials."
Campbell said the directive took effect Feb. 11, the same day she learned of the material, and that she has ordered a full review of manager and supervisor core training materials and a review of the process that allowed the article to be included. She said MMB will "hold those people, whoever was involved accountable" and will communicate back to employees who previously received the optional reading.
The article was distributed as optional additional reading (not actively presented) in manager and supervisor core trainings from April 2024 through Feb. 11, 2025, Campbell said. During that period, 560 employees completed the supervisor course and 356 employees completed manager corps, she said; these are supervisory and classified managerial positions across state government and "no line staff, no frontline staff would have taken these trainings," Campbell added.
Campbell told the committee she has "no reason to believe" any constitutional officer had prior knowledge of the specific training content. After MMB's review began, Campbell said MMB learned of one other agency that had used the article — the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency — and that agency has stopped using it.
Vice Chair Davis and other committee members asked how MMB planned to follow up with employees who had received the optional reading and how the agency would audit or review other materials that may be on a "dusty shelf" and potentially offensive. Campbell said MMB will start with the manager and supervisor core trainings, reschedule upcoming sessions if the review is not complete, and then expand the review to other enterprise trainings; she cautioned the review will take time because of the volume of content. "If our review is not complete in that time we will push the trainings out so we'll reschedule them so that we're clear about the content," Campbell said.
Campbell framed the training change within MMB's broader workforce goals, saying the enterprise offers training to strengthen ethics, performance management, and inclusion competencies across nearly 40,000 executive-branch employees. She said inclusive workplaces help retention and performance, but characterized the optional article as counterproductive to those goals because it "worked against those efforts to have an inclusive welcoming and affirming workplace through finger pointing and exclusion."
Campbell apologized "for the way in which this article characterized Republicans and the Republican party" and emphasized the agency's goal to align training content with state and federal law and MMB policies on respectful workplace conduct.
The committee did not take formal action on the matter; Campbell said MMB is drafting communication to affected employees and will report back to the committee once the review and any process changes are completed.
Ending: Committee members asked to receive follow-up when MMB completes its review of training materials and the process changes intended to prevent similar incidents. Campbell said she welcomes feedback and will return to the committee when the internal review is complete.
