Stupid question: It's already illegal to discriminate and harass on the basis of race. Why do you need a training program to make it less risky to fire people over it?

I think it's less risky because it sends a clear signal to employees that if they're fired for being racist assholes, they don't have any real grounds for to sue for unlawful termination.

Even groundless unlawful termination lawsuits are a pain in the ass to deal with. It's better to discourage them than to litigate them.

If they're crass enough to sue for unlawful termination after being racist, what makes you think 'sensitivity training' will make them not sue?

(I'm not trying to be snarky, BTW, just trying to understand hiring law, and bad employees)

The training makes company policy crystal clear and makes it very difficult for any employee to later claim they were unaware of said policy.

I think the idea is to let them know that they will almost certainly lose which acts as a deterrent suing in the first place.