Following a departure that sparked anger toward Mayor Miro Weinberger, Burlington’s first director of racial equity, inclusion and belonging announced Monday she has taken a similar position working for the city of Minneapolis.
Tyeastia Green was hired to form and lead Burlington’s equity department in February 2020, months before the national racial reckoning sparked by a Minneapolis police officer killing Black Minnesotan George Floyd in summer 2020.
Green announced the move to that city in a tweet that included a picture of her next to the city logo and the words: “Executive Director of Race and Equity.”
In the tweet, Green thanked members of her department in Burlington, saying: “I left it all on the floor and gave my all every single day to set the framework of belonging … I will miss you, and you have a special place in my heart.”
Activists and city leaders — including Ali Dieng, I-Ward 7, and Progressive city councilors — blamed the mayor for Green’s departure, saying Weinberger did not support Green in her role.
At a City Council meeting last week, Council President Max Tracy, P-Ward 2, accused Weinberger of obstructing Green from carrying out her duties. Dieng suggested the mayor used Green as a political prop.
While Weinberger did not directly address those allegations at the meeting, his spokesperson Jordan Redell issued a statement for this article dismissing them.
The city’s “effort (to create the racial equity, inclusion and belonging department) far surpasses the steps taken by any other Vermont municipality or even the State of Vermont itself,” Redell said. “The Mayor is currently very focused on supporting the REIB department through this critical transition to ensure the momentum of the last two years is not lost.”
Weinberger previously faced criticism for removing Green, a Black woman, as the leader of an effort to analyze how the city could reform policing and replacing her with Darren Springer, the manager of the city’s electric utility and a white man. The mayor later called that move a mistake and reinstated Green.
During her roughly two years working for the city, Green oversaw the racial equity office as it grew from a staff of one to 15 full-time employees, according to a press release from Weinberger’s office. She also helped organize grants for businesses in the city owned by people of color and helped lead racial equity workshops for city employees.
The published poet and writer came to Vermont from Minnesota, where she worked for the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington as a racial equity and inclusion analyst. Prior to that, she earned a master of public affairs degree from the University of Minnesota and worked in information technology.
Green’s new position leads Minneapolis’s race and equity division, which is part of its city coordinator’s office, according to its website. The role’s duties include educating and advising city staff on matters of race.
According to a posting for the job, candidates who applied before Dec. 10 received priority. The posting also asked for candidates with 10 years of experience and listed a salary range of $122,460 to $145,165.
Green’s exit was first reported by Seven Days. Weinberger’s office canceled an interview with the alt-weekly just before announcing the news in a Feb. 15 press release, saying Green was leaving to “pursue other opportunities.”
A spokesperson for the city of Minneapolis did not respond to questions by publication time.
“I am grateful for Tyeastia’s service to Burlington through two incredibly challenging and important years and wish her success and happiness in her home City of Minneapolis,” Weinberger said in a statement.
Correction: A previous version of this story misstated the timeline of Green’s hiring. She was appointed to her role in February 2020.
