There has been yet another shake-up in Minneapolis after Alberder Gillespie, the city’s Civil Rights Director, was fired on Feb. 16, roughly two years into her four-year term.
In an email to the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, City spokeswoman Sarah McKenzie shared that City Operations Officer Margaret Anderson Kelliher, who oversees the Civil Rights Department, will serve as the interim director on a short-term basis as they move to “expeditiously” fill the role.
McKenzie’s statement read, “The Minneapolis Civil Rights Department is a critical part of City government tasked with protecting and advancing the civil and human rights of our community, including the work of the Office of Police Conduct Review (OPCR). OPCR is responsible for complying with several provisions of the settlement agreement with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights.”
Local reports indicate that Mayor Jacob Frey had terminated Gillespie on the recommendation of Kelliher, who had stated that she posed a threat to the city’s ability to meet its responsibilities in the Minnesota Department of Human Rights settlement agreement.
Much of the reporting refers to documents surrounding Gillespie’s termination that illustrated her office’s inability to investigate police misconduct complaints in the allotted time frame required by the settlement agreement between MDHR and the city.
The city and MDHR reached a settlement agreement in 2023 following MDHR’s investigation that found that the City of Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Police Department “engage in a pattern or practice of race discrimination in violation of the Minnesota Human Rights Act.”
In a phone interview last week, Gillespie shared that she was out of town when news of her firing had become public. She shared that a colleague in the city had contacted her to meet over Microsoft Teams. Unsure about the focus of the meeting, Gillespie was only informed that she was meeting with Kelliher.
“I really have not sat down and processed much of this,” she said.
At the time of the firing, Gillespie was in Indianapolis, Ind., for the NBA All-Star Weekend, where she facilitated events with several organizations. She avoided looking into the news coming out of Minneapolis to stay focused on her obligations.
Though Gillespie declined to address specific claims in the media, she took a moment to speak on her tenure as the civil rights director and her work that has led up to this point.
“I 100 percent will stand on the work that I’ve done,” she said. “I have been and always will be committed to justice. I have a record, a life, and a body of work that has shown that throughout my lifetime.”
The director of the Office of Police Conduct Review, John K. Jefferson, was out the same day. Jefferson had been in his position for roughly a year.
Gillespie, who participated in hiring Jefferson, shared that there was a considerable amount of work done to find someone with Jefferson’s qualifications.
This new reshuffling of personnel comes just two weeks after the city, and MDHR agreed to select Effective Law Enforcement for All to be the independent evaluator to oversee the settlement agreement.
Supporters of Gillespie attended the Administration and Enterprise Oversight Committee Monday afternoon, Feb. 26, to address her recent firing and raise questions about the mayor’s handling of her departure.
Marquita Stephens, the president, and CEO of the Urban League Twin Cities, stated that the timing of Gillespie’s firing during her vacation and the immediate news coverage raised questions about the city’s work environment and intentions behind the firing. She also referred to the departure of over a dozen other Black officials in the city and urged the committee to inquire more into the matter.
“There are larger issues at play here that the termination of a political appointee brings forth,” Stephens said. “There appears to be a crisis of governance regarding civil rights. Turbulence in the country around DEI seems to have raised its head in Minnesota.”
Executive Director of the University of Minnesota Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement Center, Makeda Zulu, also attended the committee meeting and stated that Gillespie’s firing presented an opportunity to get a deeper look into the inner workings of the city.
“The opportunity is for the city to present a report on the practices of hiring, promotion, complaints, dismissal, discipline, and money spent on settlements by race, gender, department, and supervisor so that we can create a real plan,” she said.
Thomas Berry, program director of the Black Civic Network, took to the podium and stated that the issue of workforce culture seemed to be a top-down issue about the treatment of city staff. “If we have a mayor that’s behaving in this pattern, then what do we expect from the other people working under him and his leadership in the city?” he questioned. “No one should be dismissed for doing their job. She doesn’t work for the mayor. She works for the citizens of Minneapolis.”
During the committee meeting, a statement from former Community Safety Commissioner Cedric L. Alexander in support of Gillespie was read aloud to the council members. Alexander shared that the former civil rights department director had taken proactive measures to include those impacted by unconstitutional policing in the oversight process. He spoke about his experience working alongside Gillespie and witnessing her commitment to the community.
“Losing someone of her caliber and dedication is a significant setback for accountability and the progress of police reform, given her lifelong history of advocating for civil rights. Despite facing internal challenges and a reported lack of support in carrying out her sworn duties, Director Gillespie remained steadfast in her unwavering commitment to operating with integrity,” he said.
Alexander’s statement as a former official starkly contrasts with the reports shared by the current city officials who have taken the lead on the reform process.
Council member Jeremiah Ellison of Ward 5 took a moment during the committee to speak on Gillespie’s firing and criticized how it was conducted.
“I’m not qualified to know whether there was or was not cause to move on from Director Gillespie’s leadership,” he said. “What I am, I think, qualified to say is that your integrity is unquestionable and that when people move on from the city, they should be allowed to do so with their dignity intact.”
Ellison continued to state that those with accusations of impropriety were able to leave their roles in the City with dignity. But the reporting around Gillespie painted her in a way that could impact her reputation.
“How is somebody supposed to go find work when labeled as a direct and imminent threat to reform? That is an inappropriate accusation, in my opinion,” he stated.
Gillespie had been hired as the city’s 2020 census coordinator. A year later, she was appointed to her recent position at the Civil Rights Department and was re-appointed in 2022. She stated that this recent development does not change the course of her work and that she will stand firm in her commitment to justice.
“I’m going to do what I’ve always done,” she said. “I’ve always been a person who has been about community and fighting for justice. I’m going to continue the fight that I’ve always been in and continue being the truth-teller that I’ve always been because I will not be bullied. I will not be frightened, and I will not be silenced.”
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