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Biden’s new diversity czar calls to destroy tradition: ‘White dominance’

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The Biden administration appointed Zakiya Carr Johnson as its new chief diversity officer.

Secretary of State Blinken touted her experience promoting opportunity for underrepresented groups.

“Her previous work promoting entrepreneurship and access to opportunity for underrepresented populations, as well as her commitment to inclusive leadership, make us stronger, smarter, and more innovative,” Blinken said.

However, Carr Johnson has advocated dismantling traditional power structures and America’s “failed historic model” of a “colonizing past.”

As head of Obama’s first racial equity unit, she called for challenging traditions and making people uncomfortable “at every juncture.”

“[There] 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… We understand that a cultural shift is on the horizon and in order to save us all, we must be prepared to change,” Johnson wrote.

“Feminist leadership requires… challenge[ing] the structures we believe hold power… I am determined to contribute to this effort. This commitment is not merely about representation in seats and slots, but… how we leverage that space to make lasting change,” she added. “We cannot have equity without dismantling structural racism, patriarchy and heterosexism…. It will start with movements… that compel us to ask… uncomfortable questions. What does inclusion mean for example, if White supremacy remains intact?”

“Therefore, it is my belief that despite the tension and discomfort that may come from questioning the way things have always been, we must critically explore privilege, power and process to chart new ways forward,” she said.

Previously, she said feminism requires questioning privilege and process to develop new ways forward.

As a diversity consultant, she promoted concepts like intersectionality, critical race theory, and countering “White-centered feminism.”

Johnson has stated diversity initiatives should not just advance White women and has appeared on a show hosted by someone fired for comments seen as pro-Hamas.

“Feminist leadership must change power structures. In order to achieve transformative change, we must analyze and question existing power structures and how they affect decision-making. How can we redefine, value, use, share and distribute power differently?” Carr’s guide stated.

“Feminist leadership must be intersectional. Understanding and addressing intersecting identities, needs and resulting inequalities both within our own structures and in our work is the basis of ensuring representation, inclusion and diversity. How can we dismantle structural inequalities and what are potential ways forward to address them?,” the guide said.

While Blinken praised her commitment to inclusive leadership, Johnson embraces a vision of dismantling systemic racism, patriarchy and heterosexism.

“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,” Johnson wrote in 2020.

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