In a powerful demonstration of community action and advocacy, a series of events unfolded that shed light on the impact of standing up against racial injustice. Recently, a vile and racially offensive email was sent to civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong, a vocal advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) following Trump’s string of executive orders.
The email, which was both offensive and racially denigrating, was sent from a local Minneapolis self-described tax-preparer, Susan Ciconte, on January 30. In her message, Ciconte expressed hostility toward the Target boycott and Armstrong’s support for DEI, calling the stance a “waste of time” and using racial slurs and perpetuating harmful racial stereotypes, sparking outrage and a swift response from concerned community members.
Ciconte’s email to Armstrong:
“Oh I wish I had been at Target downtown when you staged your racist meeting. I’m at that Target most days of the week. I would have loved to have spit on the ground in front of you and your a**hole comrades.
I’m so glad to see companies realizing their idiotic so-called DEI policies are absolutely unnecessary. Decades ago it was called affirmative action and many inexperienced minorities lacking the qualifications were hired.
It was a black female downtown Target employee that was fired recently for theft. Yep, while working she was regularly stealing items. It’s rather pathetic since she was working full time and being groomed for a team lead position.
That black woman outside that Target panhandling every f***ing day? She drives a BMW. Wow, what a shocker.
Across the street are your fellow drug dealers. When it’s too cold outside for them, they are in the skyway near Target. And they always have that woman with young children around them. That’s so nice. But she gets her subsidized housing and everything else free; she has plenty of time on her hands.
Oh, by the way a**hole, I voted for Harris, as I did for Biden, Bill Clinton, Hilary Clinton, Obama, and many other democrats, with a few republicans mixed in from decades ago.
Susan Ciconte”
Armstrong says the email was originally sent to her spam. She says she found it when she was browsing through, going to Facebook about it on February 17.
Armstrong’s Facebook post:
“Friends, Take a look at the contents of a grotesque email that I received below from a white woman in Minneapolis who is upset about the Target boycott and my advocacy for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. After being so racially-denigrating in her email towards Black people, she had the nerve to sign her name at the bottom of the email and to use her real email address- so I looked her up online and just gave her a call. At first she tried to deny emailing me, but once I read her email address back to her, she admitted it.
I then told her that her email was racist and evil and I asked her what would compel her to do such a thing. I also asked her why she thought it mattered that she voted for Democrats in the past. And I asked her why she felt the need to call me an a**hole for fighting for justice. She then responded that it wasn’t evil and that I should use my background as a lawyer to work for the Innocence Project (which she said she donated to in the past) instead of fighting for DEI. I then asked her, am I calling your office to tell you how to use your background as a tax preparer? So why are you emailing me, trying to tell me what to do with my law degree and being so rude and disrespectful? She then hung up in my face rather than answer my questions.
Sadly, these are the types of attitudes that ensure that our society remains inequitable and/or goes backwards. And Susan clearly doesn’t understand that as a white woman, she is or would be one of the biggest beneficiaries of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, along with affirmative action.”
The outcome was a swift one. A few days later, Armstrong announced on February 24 that Susan Ciconte had been removed from the Hennepin Health Enrollee Advisory Council. Armstrong expressed her gratitude on social media, particularly to three women, Andrea Morisette Grazzini, Michelle Gross, and Chayo Smith, who had written to Hennepin Health’s CEO, Mike Herzing, demanding action. Armstrong attached the email confirmation from Herzing, who responded that the organization “does not tolerate racist language or behavior [and that] – it is contrary to [their] work as a health plan to improve equity and reduce disparities within our community.”
By demanding accountability, these women helped ensure that a person with such [alleged] discriminatory views would no longer hold a position of influence over health care decisions, which can disproportionately affect Black people and other people of color.
“This is an example of how we fight back against racial abuse and win! Our whole community benefits from this victory because Susan will no longer be in a position of power to influence health care decisions that can affect Black people and other people of color,” said Armstrong.
The question persists: What precedent does the abandonment of DEI set for general racism in our community?
Jasmine McBride welcomes reader responses at jmcbride@spokesman-recorder.com