Desirée Cormier Smith is the Special Representative for Racial Equity and Justice at the United States Department of State (Credit: Twitter )
By Gary Raynaldo DIPLOMATIC TIMES
U.S. diplomat Desirée Cormier Smith is ambitious and passionate in her effort to fight systemic racial discrimination worldwide. Cormier Smith was appointed in June as the U.S. State Department’s first Special Representative for Racial Equity and Justice. As soon as her appointment was announced, right wing media and commentators went berserk, launching rabid, frothing at the mouth dog whistle attacks against the career African American diplomat. “The appointment shows that the administration’s divisive, discriminatory “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” agenda is now officially ensconced at State”, Simon Hankinson charged in his article for The Heritage Foundation titled: “Does the State Department Really Need a Special Representative for Racial Equity and Justice?” Another critic attacked Smith in an article in ultra-Right magazine National Review titled: “Biden’s ‘Equity’ Diplomat Pushed Global Reparations, Railed against Electoral College”. Republican lawmakers even called for an inquiry into Cormier Smith’s State Department equity position they labeled as a “WOKE CZAR”. There were many more right wing attacks on Cormier Smith that boggle the mind. Serving one’s country is a noble cause. The Biden State Department said Cormier Smith, while serving in her new role as Special Representative, will lead its “efforts to protect and advance the human rights of people belonging to marginalized racial and ethnic communities and combat systemic racism, discrimination, and xenophobia around the world.” Cormier Smith began her career as a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State with assignments in Mexico, South Africa, and Washington, D.C. Previously, she was the Senior Policy Advisor for Africa, Europe, and Eurasia at the Open Society Foundation. Cormier Smith holds a B.A. in Political Science and Psychology from Stanford University and a M.A. in Public Policy from John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
U.S. State Department Mostly “Pale, Male, and Yale”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said his job is to ensure that “our foreign policy delivers for the American people.” According to Blinken, to achieve that, “we have to recruit and retain a workforce that truly reflects the American people. Diversity and inclusion make our diplomatic team stronger, smarter, more creative, more innovative.” The U.S. Foreign Service as long been described as a bastion of white male Ivy Leaguers. “The country can no longer afford a State Department that is pale, male, and Yale,” Karen Bass wrote in a Dec. 5 2020 article in Foreign Policy. “By sending into the field a mostly white corps of diplomats while preaching values of inclusion and equality, the United States undermines its own influence abroad,” Robert McMahon, Council on Foreign Affairs expert wrote.
And despite past efforts to diversify the top levels of the U.S. Foreign Service, they remain predominantly white and male, according to data from governance watchdog groups.
President Trump blatanty reversed a trend toward including more African Americans in the foreign service. Only 5 of the 189 ambassadors who served in the Trump administration were Black, the lowest number in decades after representation at the ambassador level increased during presidencies of Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama.
Last week on Aug. 31, 2022, the Department of State held a discussion at the Foreign Press Club in Washington D.C. titled: “The Critical Role of Racial Equity and Justice in U.S. Foreign Policy”. Cormier Smith was a participant along with U.S. Representative To The United Nations Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, The Honorable Congressman Gregory W. Meeks, Chairman Of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Justin Hansford, Howard University Law Professor.
“I Am Focused on Advancing Racial and Ethnic Equity and Justice Globally”: Cormier Smith
Desirée Cormier Smith is the U.S. State Department’s first Special Representative for Racial Equity and Justice.(Credit: state.gov)
During the August 31 discussion briefing in recognition of International Day for People of African Descent, Cormier Smith explained her role in fighting racism worldwide:
“In this historic new role, I am focused on advancing racial and ethnic equity and justice globally through our foreign affairs work. It is my job to ensure that U.S. foreign policy, programs, and processes advance the human rights of people belonging to marginalized racial and ethnic groups, including indigenous peoples, and that we are working to combat systemic racism, discrimination, violence, and xenophobia around the world. This work has always been near and dear to my heart. I grew in Inglewood, California, where my grandfather, Larry Aubry, a renowned black activist in the area, dedicated his life to the pursuit of justice and equality. When I first began my career in foreign policy, he reminded me that there were problems in our own community and encouraged me to focus my energy and talents at home. But I decided to do both: pursue a career in foreign policy while never losing touch with the struggles here at home because I believe, as Maya Angelou put it, none of us is free until all of us are free.”
According to the diplomat, anti-black racism and the “devaluation of black lives” has plagued the world for centuries. Cromier Smith added that from the transatlantic slave trade to the “devastating colonization” on the African continent, to hate crimes and predatory community violence, to blatant and institutionalized racism that codified income inequality, health disparities, and poverty into law, “this distinct type of racism is one that people of African descent around the world know all too well”.
“International Day for People of African Descent, is an opportunity for the world to bring global attention to the various forms of discrimination faced by people of African descent everywhere”
– Desirée Cormier Smith U.S. State Department Special Representative for Racial Equity and Justice.
Desirée Cormier Smith is the U.S. State Department’s first Special Representative for Racial Equity and Justice.
Cormier Smith referenced UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ recent statement regarding International Day For People of African Descent in which he put it, “It is a long overdue recognition of the profound injustices and systemic discrimination that people of African descent have endured for centuries, and continue to confront today.”
Addressing Racial Inequities Is In Our National Security Interest – Cormier Smith
According to Cromier Smith, “Systemic racism makes societies less stable, less peaceful, and less prosperous. So beyond it being the morally right thing to do, addressing racial inequities is in our national security interest.”
U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield Says All People of African Descent Should Be Celebrated
United States Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield (Credit: US Department of State)
Linda Thomas-Greenfield is the United States Ambassador to the United Nations. Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield brings a resume of deep diplomatic experience and is striving to help restore the U.S.-UN relationship that was strained after four years of President Trump’s administration which resisted multilateralism. Speaking at the August 31, 2022 panel briefing, Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield said International Day for People of African Descent “is personal for me” as she was raised in the segregated South in America.
“Having grown up in the segregated South, I was moved to tears the first – the very first time I set foot in Africa: the warm welcome that I received, knowing I was in the land of my ancestors was beautiful and inspiring, and I have never forgotten that day. It made me determined to support all peoples of African descent throughout my career. So I am beyond proud that the United States is joining so many others around the world in both honoring and celebrating the second International Day for People of African Descent. For me, honoring this day means not shrinking away from our painful past or our current responsibilities to remove the rot of systemic racism from our societies. We should celebrate all people of African descent, and our many collective contributions to the world. We should celebrate the hard-won progress we’ve made over the past decades, even though we still have so much further to go. And we should celebrate the creation of the Permanent Forum for People of African Descent. This new and necessary space represents a real, tangible victory at the UN. “
–United States Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield
