State Department spokesman responds to criticism of controversial new DEI chief
Fox News' Griff Jenkins questions State Department spokesman Matthew Miller about new chief diversity and inclusion officer Zakiya Carr Johnson's past comments calling America a "failed historic model."
The State Department continues to weather controversy over its new diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) chief who was exposed by Fox News Digital for espousing anti-American views. A department spokesman defended the hire, saying there are "different ways to love America" during Thursday's press briefing.
Fox News national correspondent Griff Jenkins pressed State Department spokesman Matthew Miller on prior comments from its new chief diversity and inclusion officer, Zakiya Carr Johnson.
Carr Johnson once wrote that "the rules created in our organizations and baked into their very foundations, are often riddled with racism, patriarchy and exclusion."
"These are chinks in the armor of traditional leadership that refuse to reconcile with a colonizing past, or recognize that time has run out for experimentation and tweaking of a failed historic model," she wrote.
"Do you find those comments problematic?" Jenkins asked, after quoting from the excerpt.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller was asked about hiring Zakiya Carr Johnson as diversity chief. (Fox News Digital)
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Miller echoed the State Department's Wednesday statement defending Carr Johnson and said she is among the "most qualified" for the position.
Carr Johnson previously served as then-President Obama's senior adviser and director of the first Race, Ethnicity and Social Inclusion Unit at the State Department. Her experience since has consisted of owning two companies — Odara Solutions, a DEI consulting firm, and Black Women Disrupt, an initiative in which Carr Johnson interviewed Black women involved in creative spaces around the world.
"Our new chief diversity and inclusion officer is one of the most qualified experts in this field," Miller said.
He continued to explain the importance of enhancing diversity in the workforce, without directly addressing the anti-American sentiment espoused by the new chief.
"It's something that we see as important here at the State Department that the secretary has put a premium on because he believes that when our workforce looks like America and reflects the full diversity of America, our workforce is stronger and our ability to protect America's national security is improved and enhanced," Miller said. "And that's why he selected her to do this incredibly important job."
Miller then claimed the quotes were not taken in "full context."
Biden State Dept DEI official Zakiya Carr Johnson called for destruction of American tradition. (Fox News Digital )
Trump's former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on X, formerly Twitter, that Carr Johnson's hire was part of the "Biden administration's core commitment… to inflict a divisive, un-American, Marxist dogma on the American people and waste your tax dollars to do it."
"The State Department should be staffed by individuals who love America and believe in our core principles, not ideologues who think that America represents a ‘failed historic model.’ America should not be represented by individuals who hate America," Pompeo, a Fox News contributor, continued.
Jenkins pressed the State Department press secretary on Carr Johnson's comments about America's founding.
"Well, apparently, [Pompeo] believes there are different ways to love America, because one of the ways we believe you can best love America is to love its full diversity and build a workforce that reflects that full diversity," Miller said.
In addition to her seeking redress of "White dominance," Carr Johnson's idea of inclusion isn't the most welcoming to White women.
In a Facebook post, Carr Johnson's DEI company once complained that female-directed diversity initiatives allow too many White women to advance, purportedly "at the expense of women of color."
This idea was reiterated in a June 2020 letter Carr Johnson signed with Fair Share that outlined a series of antiracist commitments.
"We strongly believe that feminist leadership must be anti-racist in order to transform our societies. Today, we call for… long-term transformation… We will do our part to uplift and amplify feminist leaders of colour, counter white-centered feminism trends and narratives, and share Black and Brown feminists’ wisdom and recommendations," it said.
The controversy over Carr Johnson follows the Kelisa Wing kerfuffle at the Pentagon. Wing's DEI department was disbanded after Fox News Digital exposed her comments about White people. Several DEI chiefs were hired under Biden's "Executive Order on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Federal Workforce."
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and former chief officer of diversity, equity and inclusion Kelisa Wing at the Department of Defense Education Activity. (Thomas Niedermueller/Getty Images | YouTube/Screenshot | Kelisa Wing)
Wing wrote in July 2020, "I'm so exhausted at these white folx in these [professional development] sessions…"
Wing also said she needed a break from "White nonsense."
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Wing co-created children's books that said White people must confess their privilege and were de facto hurting Black people by being benefactors of unearned advantages.
"If another Karen tells me about her feelings… I just might lose it…" she said.