DOJ Opens Investigation Into Baltimore Health Department's Racially Segregated Trainings

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division opened an investigation into the Baltimore City Health Department after public reporting showed the agency organized taxpayer-funded trainings that separated employees into race-based groups. The probe will examine whether the department’s employment practices “discriminate against, or limit, segregate, or classify, employees because of their race, color, and national origin” in possible violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The DOJ letter was sent to Mayor Brandon Scott and signed by Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon. Dhillon condemned the reported practice, saying, “Separating employees into training groups based on their race is discriminatory, illegal, and un-American. Such practices are divisive and foster a racially hostile work environment.” She added that “Racial segregation of employees is deeply offensive to the American guarantee of equal rights under the law, and it will not be tolerated.” The Justice Department cited public reporting as the basis for its inquiry and said it launched the investigation to determine whether Title VII was violated.

Internal emails and payment records disclosed to reporters show the city paid the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond $50,000 between 2022 and 2024 for an “Undoing Racism Workshop.” Records also indicate the Health Department spent more than $2,000 on food for a three-day training in November 2024 and paid consultants $150 for each White caucus meeting. The emails show separate “white caucus” and “people of color caucus” meetings were part of those sessions, and that White caucus meetings continued through at least June 2025.

The Baltimore City Health Department has defended the approach as an educational strategy, saying White affinity groups help participants “examine our racial conditioning without relying on people of color for answers” and were intended to help White staff understand their “own complicity and systemic racism.” Mayor Brandon Scott’s office said it was “aware of the DOJ’s letter and will comply with any lawful investigation.”

For Baltimore residents, the investigation raises immediate questions about how public health training was designed and paid for with city funds, and whether ordinary city employees experienced a hostile or discriminatory workplace. The probe could affect morale among front-line public health workers who deliver services across neighborhoods that still wrestle with health disparities, and it will likely prompt city officials to review procurement, training policies, and oversight of consultant contracts.

Legally, the inquiry is at the investigative stage; DOJ statements make clear it is seeking to determine whether unlawful employment discrimination occurred under Title VII, which bars discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The department has not announced any findings or enforcement actions.

What comes next for Baltimore is likely to be a request for documents and interviews, closer scrutiny of how training contracts were approved, and public pressure for transparency from city hall and BCHD. For taxpayers and those who rely on city public health services, the outcome will matter for budgets, workplace culture, and how equity work is planned and funded going forward.