A recent audit found that K-12 schools operated by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) are carrying hundreds of “Racial Justice in America” books that were written on the side by one of the DoD’s diversity officials, raising questions about conflicts of interest and self-dealing in the department.
On Thursday, the independent watchdog organization OpenTheBooks.com published a report on their recent audit of the Department of Defence Education Activity (DoDEA), the branch of the DoD that oversees education curriculums for the minor children of service members. The audit found that, as of January, 45 DoDEA schools were carrying 606 books written or co-produced by Kelisa Wing, who is DoDEA’s chief of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
Wing’s books are part of a series called “Racial Justice in America” and feature titles including “Jim Crow and Policing,” “What Does it Mean To Defund the Police,” “What is White Privilege,” “What is Anti-Racism” and “What is the Black Lives Matter Movement,” among others. Fox News reported the book “What is White Privilege” includes the passage: “White privilege hurts a lot of people. If you are White you might feel bad about hurting others or you might feel afraid to lose this privilege.” The book “What is Anti-Racism” also allegedly makes the erroneous claim that the modern concept of race was introduced by Nazi Germany, referred to in the book as the “German National Party” though the Nazi party was actually formally called the National Socialist German Workers’ Party.
Wing previously came under scrutiny for racially charged tweets she made, and was also scrutinized for her involvement in the “Racial Justice in America” book series and how her racial views are being introduced into the DoDEA curriculum.
DoDEA operates 160 K-12 schools in 11 foreign countries, seven U.S. states, and two territories.
In October of last year, after Wing’s tweets resurfaced, OpenTheBooks.com audited the DoDEA to see how many of Wing’s books were included in DoDEA school libraries. The organization found that 11 schools collectively carried 45 copies of Wing’s children’s books at the time.
In their latest audit, OpenTheBooks.com found that the number had grown to 606 copies in 49 DoDEA schools—a 1,200 percent increase in the availability of her books in DoDEA schools following the heightened scrutiny of her racial views. OpenTheBooks.com’s audit report provides direct links to the library inventory portals for various DoDEA schools.
A DoDEA employee also posted on Twitter praise for Wing after she read one of her books to a class of 4th graders.
This week’s Friday Featured Author was our own DoDEA TOY Kelisa Wing! Wow. Just wow. She was such a light, such a joy, and INSPIRED my students to write and understand that “feedback is a gift”. Thank you SO MUCH for spending time with my 4th grade class! @kelisa_l2teach pic.twitter.com/2S7ViHAT8G
— Michelle McCann (@makemathstick) October 2, 2020
Ethics Concerns
DoDEA has standards of conduct regarding potential conflicts of interest. Those standards prohibit DoDEA employees from making sales solicitations to colleagues and prohibit employees from participating in DoD matters that impact “covered relationships” such as “someone with whom you have or seek to have a business relationship.”
NTD reached out to DoDEA regarding the ethics surrounding the potential purchase or promotion of books sold by Wing’s outside business associates, including co-authors and the publishers of their books. DoDEA did not respond to the request for comment before this article was published.
In a February interview with Military Times, Wing said she does not promote her books with DoDEA and does not receive royalties from the sale of those books.
‘Wokeness’ in the Military
The DoDEA has brought hundreds of Wing’s books into its K-12 school libraries at a time when the military is facing criticisms that it is promoting “wokeness.”
In the summer of 2020, as protests and riots over racial unrest spread throughout the country, the U.S. Army was caught sharing a training slide that listed then-President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan as an example of “covert white supremacy.”
In 2021, Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) shared allegations of critical race theory training and seminars being conducted at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
Recent surveys also suggest growing concerns, among both civilians and active-military members, that the military is becoming politicized.
Democratic lawmakers have pushed back on accusations that the military has become politicized. In a January interview with Military.com, Rep. Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.) said that it’s the Republican claims of woke politics infiltrating the military, rather than the policies themselves, that are undermining public trust in the U.S. military.
Some military leaders have also defended so-called “woke” policies in the military.
Addressing critical race theory during a June 2021 congressional hearing, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said it’s important for members of the military to “be widely read” before saying “I want to understand white rage, and I’m white.”
Wing defended her past racially charged remarks during her recent interview with Military Times. Wing said she shared her racial and political commentary outside of her DoDEA work setting.