PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A new initiative on the Portland Community College campuses coming up next spring is getting a lot of attention in recent days.

White History Month, set for April, is intended to be an academic effort to help establish the causes and origins of racism.

The name, however, has evoked speculation and chatter on social media.

“We’re trying to force a more nuanced discussion of society as it exists and how that society privileges people from a certain background and disadvantages people from other backgrounds,” Abe Proctor, PCC’s Community Relations Manager, tells KOIN.

He says it is an effort to broaden everyone’s perspectives of the world and to try to open eyes to the reality that different cultures and different races have differing experiences and vastly different outcomes when it comes to wealth, health and quality of life.

“The intent isn’t to cast blame on anyone but rather to look at the context of racism and how it affects everyone,” Proctor says.

The month long initiative will be blended in with regular coursework.