A self-described “woke” Pentagon diversity chief has recommended for classroom use a book that describes 9/11 first responders as “menaces.”
The book was recommended at least twice by Kelisa Wing, the first-ever chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer at the Department of Defense Education Activity, as reported by Fox News.
Wing oversees curriculum for more than 60,000 military-connected children at 160 schools worldwide, Fox News reported.
In the book, “Between the World and Me,” author Ta-Nehisi Coates writes that he “could see no difference” between 9/11 responders and a police officer who had shot and killed his friend a year earlier.
“They [the responders] were not human to me. Black, white, or whatever, they were the menaces of nature; they were the fire, the comet, the storm, which could—with no justification—shatter my body,” Coates wrote.
The book was on a “social justice book list” recommended by Wing for classrooms, according to Digital Promise. Wing also read aloud another excerpt from it during a DoDEA summit in 2021, Open The Books reported.
Wing is also under defense department investigation, as requested by 22 House Republicans, for anti-white tweets, Fox News reported.
She tweeted that she was “exhausted with these White folx” at meetings. Wing also said she had to give a white woman “the BUSINESS” after she had “the CAUdacity” – meaning Caucasian audacity – to say black people can be racist.
A decision in the investigation is expected 30 days after the initial review, which began Sept. 19, according to Fox News.
Wing was selected for the newly created diversity chief position in December 2021, according to a Defense Department press release. President Joe Biden had earlier signed an executive order calling for such positions in all federal agencies.
DoDEA Director Tom Brady said Wing is “exactly the right person to lead our efforts in building on the foundational work done to support meaningful change in our organization.”
“This new position will take a holistic approach to identifying and improving how we integrate the practice of diversity, equity and inclusion in every aspect of DoDEA, from curriculum and assessment to hiring and professional development,” he added.
