Office of black ‘diversity change’ agent at Department of Education was vandalized and African art figurines were found beheaded in possible racially motivated attack
- Incident at Department of Education’s DC headquarters was reported Tuesday
- Black female employee found her office vandalized including civil rights poster
- Fears that it may be racially motivated; employee is a ‘diversity change agent’
The office of a black employee at the federal Department of Education has been vandalized, raising fears that the incident was racially motivated.
The female employee, a ‘diversity change agent’ for the department’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, discovered the damage on Tuesday after being out of the office, NBC News reported.
The vandalism in the department’s Washington DC headquarters reportedly included damage to African figurines that were beheaded.
An employee at the US Department of Education in DC (above) reported on Tuesday that her office had been vandalized at some time while she was out of town
A poster was also defaced, which depicted civil right icon Ruby Bridges, the first black child to attend the all-white William Frantz Elementary School in Louisiana in 1960.
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos reacted quickly to the vandalism, department officials said.
‘We can confirm there was an incident involving an employee’s personal belongings on the third floor,’ Angela Morabito, an Education Department spokesperson, told NBC.
Ruby Bridges is seen above being escorted by US Marshals into William Franz Elementary in 1960. The vandalism reportedly included damage to a poster of Bridges
‘Secretary DeVos took immediate action, including referring the case to Federal Protective Services for a comprehensive investigation, increasing building security, and most importantly, ensuring the impacted employee was supported.’
A department official sent out a memo to staff saying that the incident was under investigation.
Sources said they were skeptical that some personal conflict led to the vandalism, noting that the employee was known to get along well with co-workers.