Minneapolis’ top diversity official is out

In fallout from a failed convention center expo last month.

Until last week, Tyeastia Green was the city’s director of the Department of Racial Equity, Inclusion and Belonging. No more.

On the job less for than a year, she fell victim to last’s month’s failed Black Expo held at the city’s convention center. A lot has changed in the two weeks since we reported on the city’s first annual “I Am My Ancestors’ Wildest Dreams Expo,” held in late February to coincide with Black History Month.

Last week, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that the Expo consumed approximately $500,000 of city money and had only 3,700 pre-registrants. That works out to more than $135 per potential attendee.

Actual attendance at the event appeared to be much lower.

More disturbingly, the Star Tribune reported,

Minneapolis’ top racial equity official misinformed the City Council — and the public — when she said last month that the Bush Foundation had committed $3 million to the city’s first Black expo, according to statements from the city and the foundation.

Not only had the foundation never committed a dime, the city never really asked, according to the statements.

Green had told city officials that she had to turn down the outside money raised from private foundations and corporate donors due to city rules, in justifying her request for last-minute city funding of the event.

As of yesterday, Green is no longer employed by the city. From the Star Tribune,

In a response to the Star Tribune Tuesday, Green said, “I put in my resignation” Feb. 21 “for several reasons.” She didn’t elaborate on those reasons.

If accurate, her resignation pre-dated the actual Expo event.

No word on what will happen to Green’s former five-person department. The city is launching a probe into the Expo.