In the wake of the catastrophic wildfires that have left over 1,100 Hawaiians missing on the island of Maui, FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) has come under fire for its recent initiative on “diversity” training for employees.
This initiative, seen by some as poorly timed, asks staff members to acknowledge the claim “that systemic racism and oppression exist,” and posits that the United States is rooted in a history of “extreme, extraordinary violence.”
Internal communications within FEMA, made available to the public, have revealed a directive for members of the “resilience” division to participate in one of three diversity training sessions lasting three hours each, The Free Beacon reports.
This division, comprised of about 2,600 employees, purportedly focuses on assisting American communities in their efforts to adapt and recover from natural disasters.
Victoria Salinas, an appointee of the Biden administration, oversees the so-called “resilience” division.
Her team, as per the disclosed emails, had been directed to attend one of these sessions between Aug 1 and Sep 28.
This initiative was introduced to FEMA staff in a July email.
It was described as “part of our ongoing commitment to instill Equity as a Foundation of Emergency Management.”
The content of the training discusses topics including white supremacy’s purported influence on American institutions and systems.
“White supremacy is an ideology, a pattern of values and beliefs that are ingrained in nearly every system and institution in the U.S.,” one section of the presentation reads.
Another section named “The Uncomfortable Truth” says that the formation of the U.S. was “established and rooted in extreme, extraordinary violence.”
The course further claims that current economic, justice, and social systems necessitate “the subjugation of certain groups.”
The training was developed by the Institute for Diversity and Inclusion in Emergency Management, with CEO Chauncia Willis having personally presented it to FEMA staff “months ago.”
The material also touches upon what it calls a “false narrative” surrounding white supremacists, stating, “There’s this false narrative that white supremacists are outspoken extremists, they’re domestic terrorists, they’re the people that are protesting the removal of confederate monuments,” and emphasizing that “nice people can be white supremacists.”
While a FEMA spokesperson clarified that the training isn’t mandatory and offers three options, the agency does mandate two trainings for all employees.
These are titled “Civil Rights and FEMA Disaster 2023” and “Including People with Disabilities and Others with Access and Functional Needs in Disaster Operations.”
Amid these revelations, FEMA has attracted criticism for emphasizing such a topic amid its handling of the Maui disaster aftermath.
With more than a thousand people still unaccounted for, FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell commented to CNN, “There’s a lot of different reasons on why people are unaccounted for.”
She suggested that some might be with family or friends.
The agency’s decision to house many of its employees in high-end resorts, such as the Four Seasons, has also been deemed “selfish” by local Hawaiian citizens, given the distance of these accommodations from the affected areas.
“FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the team that’s supposed to be digging through the ashes and delivering aid, has turned the tragedy into a junket,” Fox News host Jesse Watters reported this week.
“FEMA booked themselves in the five-star luxury Hawaiian resorts, relaxing at the cocktail bar, knocking back drinks, 45 minutes away from Lahaina, the city consumed by an inferno. They’re shacking up at the Maui Four Seasons, beachfront of course. Rooms there are $1,000 a night. The presidential suite goes for $29,000 a night. We sure hope they’re not staying there.”
Questions are raised about FEMA’s priorities as Maui’s population struggles through a disaster but the federal agency in charge of such situations focuses on race-based DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives.
FEMA, the United States disaster response agency, is part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which is headed by Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
