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by ALEC SCHEMMEL | The National Desk
WASHINGTON (TND) — Watchdog group 'OpenTheBooks' launched an investigation following tweets from Kelisa Wing, a Department of Defense Equity and Inclusion official. The tweets stirred controversy due to their racially charged sentiments against white people, according to reactions online.
The group's investigation found Wing has potentially been engaging in activities that "blur the lines" between her work for the federal government and Wing's private interests.
"Wing advocates a racial reckoning, a revolution in the schools educating the children of our military service members," Adam Andrzejewski, CEO and founder OpenTheBooks.com told The National Desk (TND). "In addition to this radical ideology, Wing has blurred the lines between her military employment and her personal for-profit and non-profit enterprises. Congress should convene hearings."
Last month, racially charged tweets from Wing, disparaging white people,surfaced. Afterwards, her employment at the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA), the federal government agency in charge of educating children of military personnel across the globe, was placed under review.
Through its investigation, OpenTheBooks has found that, besides her allegedly concerning views about white people, Wing has also used agency-held events to promote her books and personal webpages. Additionally, the watchdog group found more startling viewpoints from Wing, related to her thoughts on the education system's role in transforming the way future generations think and talk about race.
"I am a writer, an advocate, and an activist, my passion work is dismantling disparate discipline systems, and I am hugely passionate about dismantling the school to prison pipeline, I have written a book [called] Promises and Possibilities Dismantling the School to Prison Pipeline— shameless plug," Wing said during a DoDEA "Equity and Access Summit" in May 2021, according to OpenTheBooks.
The watchdog group found 11 of the DoDEA school libraries collectively carried 45 copies of Wing's books, including titles such as "What is the Black Lives Matter Movement" and "Jim Crow and Policing."
OpenTheBooks also found during the course of its investigation that Wing seeks to promote an education "revolution" as part of her role as an "anti-racist."
"I am anti-racist, that means I am actively taking a stand to completely tear down, uproot, rebuild, and create something new, and that's exactly what we need to do in education. I know that sounds really revolutionary and hard but there are a lot of mechanisms and tools out there that can help us get there," Wing said during a 2020 panel discussion at Albany State University, according to OpenTheBooks.
"As we go through this racial reckoning is it time to really transform education, transform curriculum -- is it time for a revolution?" Wing was asked by an audience member during the discussion.
"Most definitely," Wing reportedly replied.
"Kelisa Wing was rapidly promoted into executive leadership at Department of Defense K-12 schools exactly because of her beliefs and ideology. Wing never hid it," Andrzejewski told TND. "As radical as these ideas are, parents, teachers, and students have every right to be upset. But they have to realize that Wing represents the new status quo -- a new normal -- within the military's agency that's charged with educating the children of servicemembers."
TND reached out to DoDEA for comment on OpenTheBooks' investigation but did not immediately get a response. If one is received this story will be updated.
Read the full investigation.