A scandal-stricken diversity, equality, and inclusion consultant has accused a Vermont mayor of white supremacy after an official report found she overspent $192,000 planning a Juneteenth celebration.
Tyeastia Green was the first person appointed by the City of Burlington in April 2020 to lead a newly created Racial Equality, Inclusion and Belongingness Office.
She left in March 2022 to return to Minneapolis, where she came from, and work there – but after less than a year amid questions about her financial management.
Burlington, learning of the Minneapolis debacle, began investigating Green’s work in the city of Vermont and discovered similar financial irregularities.
Green angrily denied the allegations on Thursday and called Burlington mayor Miro Weinberger, a white supremacist.
“White supremacy doesn’t mean having a hood and bathrobe in your closet,” she said WCAX News.
‘That’s not what that means. It means you’re going to do everything you can to make sure whiteness is the norm.
And that’s exactly what Miro does. He makes whiteness the norm, look at his leadership team.”
Tyeastia Green served as director of Burlington’s newly established Racial Equity, Inclusion and Belonging office from April 2020 to March 2022. On Thursday, she reacted angrily to allegations of financial carelessness
Green called Miro Weinberger, the mayor of Burlington, a white supremacist
The mayor’s spokesperson said Green did not respond to questions about her financial dealings.
“Tyeastia is again responding to public concern about her professional work by making personal accusations against others,” the mayor’s office told WCAX.
“After the events in Minneapolis, it would have been a professional crime for Burlington not to commission this report.”
The Burlington mayor’s report looked at funding for a Juneteenth celebration in 2022, which Green had planned and held shortly after Green left.
They found that Green was not following city policy, which directed city officials to use the best vendors for events.
Instead, they found that Green opted for more expensive vendors, costing the city an additional $132,000.
The city also accused her of a lack of communication about budgets and fundraising.
Green was accused of failing to communicate budgets and fundraising for the Juneteenth celebration in 2022
A report from the Burlington City Hall found that she was overspending on vendors
Green was accused of being careless with spending on the festival, but she pointed out she was clear of fraud or embezzlement
Green told WCAX that her office had nothing to do with event planning and contracts for Juneteenth, and said the city’s report cleared her of any allegations of fraud or embezzlement.
Green claimed the only reason the event was rated was because it was organized by and to celebrate black people.
Vermont is 93.8 percent white: only Maine has a higher percentage of whites.
The city said that if Green still worked there, she would face a significant penalty.
“If they were still city employees, we would be considering serious sanctions against them now,” the spokesman said.
Green’s year working at Minneapolis City Hall, from March 2022 to March 2023, saw allegations that she asked to go on a taxpayer-funded leadership retreat and oversaw the spending of nearly $500,000 on a disappointing Black Expo event.
Green is pictured in March 2022, returning to her hometown of Minneapolis to work at City Hall
Green wanted to go to the See Change event in Burlington, Vermont, featuring activities such as snow kiting and yoga.
It also offered a series of lectures, including those titled “Letting go of your climate debt” and “Unraveling climate justice.”
Green requested $2,433.21 for event registration, airfare, and a travel agency fee.
The municipality rejected the request.
Green was also criticized for her organization of the inaugural business expo “I am Ancestors Wildest Dreams” in Minneapolis, held in February 2023.
A local business owner told local media that she was promised 20,000 people were expected, but only a few hundred showed up.
Green defended the spending, saying it was within budget.
Green accused her former colleagues in Minneapolis, as in Vermont, of racism.
She said Minneapolis City Hall had a “toxic work culture” and claimed she was forced to work in an office where she could hear nearby prison inmates cry through the walls.
She also accused several senior black officials — including President Andrea Jenkins and member LaTrisha Vetaw — of being “anti-black.” Jenkins responded that she’s “not anti-black, I’m anti-incompetent.”