Tyeastia Green Resigns Again: Racism or Competence?

BURLINGTON, VT — Questions and controversy surrounding Tyeastia Green’s resignation and work as Minneapolis’ Director of Race and Equity continue to make headlines. But not so far in Vermont, where she held the same job in Burlington only a year ago and also left amidst controversy. 

When Green resigned in Burlington, Vermont, the initial reason she gave was feeling “unsupported in her role.” State Sen. Kesha Ram backed her up, reporting that conversations in City Hall “made her feel truly unwelcome” and “made it clear the systemic change she was trying to bring was unwelcome.” Green later clarified, saying she was heading back home to Minneapolis to take on a similar position. 

Max Tracy, then Burlington City Council President, called her departure “a devastating loss to our city." He blamed Mayor Miro Weinberger and attempts to control the management of Juneteenth, a major event Green promoted and organized. Her departure was followed by more resignations from the City’s Office for Racial Equity. 

The troubles in Minneapolis and Burlington have similar roots, and some say her influence in Burlington continues. The only Vermont coverage of her most recent resignation appeared in the Vermont Daily Chronicle, which reported that the main focus in Minneapolis is her apparent failure to raise sufficient funds, and subsequent misstatements and cover up. 

On March 13, 2023, Green resigned under pressure, amidst allegations about another marquee event, the Feb. 25 Black History Month expo at the Minneapolis Convention Center. The expo dramatically undersold, with around 3,700 ticketed attendees compared to the 20,000 predicted by Green. It is under investigation by the City’s audit committee. 

Since Green’s resignation, she has faced allegations she made false statements to city council members regarding donations. She told council members the lack of funding was due to a meeting she had with ethics office attorneys, who told her she couldn't directly receive money from private entities as it violated the city’s ethics code. "When I was fundraising for this event, I guess I wasn't allowed to do that through city rules," Green said. "The money we had received from corporate sponsorships we had to return."

“Bush Foundation offered us $3 million dollars but they had some stipulations that we could not satisfy," Green added. "I would say we had about probably $200,000 in funds from organizations." The Bush Foundation has issued a statement saying it made no such offer. Details of the $200,000 allegedly pledged by other organizations have not been revealed.

A week before resigning, however, Green accused city officials of undermining her work. In a memo to the Minneapolis operations officer, the mayor and City Council members, she described her experiences at the city as “toxic” and “anti-Black.” Since her resignation in Minneapolis, Burlington has decided to conduct its own internal audit of the city’s racial equity department. Green welcomed the review, but added that Mayor Weinberger “wanted to uphold white supremacy culture.”

In 2012, Alliant Techsystems, a Minnesota-based arms manufacturer, paid Green $100,000 to settle a race discrimination lawsuit. According to the suit, Green applied for a job to provide IT support for executives.  Although a recruiter initially told her that she had the job, management rejected her and hired a white male instead. 

An Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) lawsuit charged that the official reasons for the decision were a cover for race discrimination. Specifically, Green said that the company’s recruiter advised her to take out her braids after her first interview to appear "more professional" in the interviews that would follow. Green initially followed the instructions, and was told afterward that the company wanted to hire her.

Then the recruiter allegedly called her again to inform her that she would need to meet with the company’s information technology director. By then Green had replaced her braids. She went to the meeting and shortly after was told that the company decided to hire another candidate for the position. 

(Updated 3/24/23)