In a newly obtained letter written days before his departure, the former city department head who planned the Minneapolis Black business expo blamed other city leaders for the low turnout at the February event and threatened to charge City Council Member LaTrisha Vetaw “for defamation of character.”
Tyeastia Green, in her 14-page memo addressed to the city’s operations director and mayor, says her fellow city leaders have stacked the odds against her success. Green alleged that City Hall is a “toxic work environment” that fosters anti-Black racism, a claim the city disputed in response to questions Tuesday.
Meanwhile, some small business owners in Minneapolis — which the “I Am My Ancestors’ Wildest Dreams” expo was meant to promote — want an apology and their money back.
In the first paragraph of the memo dated March 6, Green stated plans to sue Vetaw “and any of his accomplices on and off the council,” claiming later pages that Vetaw “made this is his mission to defame. [Green’s] behavior” by allegedly “spreading rumors” about “lack of work coming from [the] Race and Equity [Department],” with Green as Director until March 13.
“I was shocked,” Vetaw said in an interview on Tuesday about his reaction to the threat of a lawsuit against him. “I did everything in my power last week to make the event a success, even myself.”
FILE – Former Minneapolis Executive Director of Racial Equity Tyeastia Green speaks at a City Council meeting February 17, 2023. (City of Minneapolis via YouTube/file)
Asked if there was any truth to the claims, the council member said, “None of it, absolutely none of it.”
On Tuesday, two weeks after the date stamped on Green’s memo, Vetaw said he had not been charged.
Vetaw was part of the council’s unanimous vote to double the funding to nearly $1 million for the inaugural expo following Green’s request a week before it was scheduled.
“I thought the expo would be postponed? Absolutely, when I found out some of the things that were going on behind the scenes,” added Vetaw.
In the end, it kept its place on the calendar, and local Black businesses set up, expecting more than 20,000 people to flock to the Minneapolis Convention Center. In fact, the estimated attendance of vendors and sources inside the City Hall was close to one hundred.
“I saw more vendors there than I saw, you know, the participants coming,” Vetaw recalled.
“I showed up at this event so it was a complete failure,” added north Minneapolis retailer and small business owner Markella Smith.
In his letter, Green blamed city communications for the city’s lack of marketing and operations for “deliberately misleading him” in the vendor contracting process.
In a statement, a city communications representative said the department is doing its part, including promoting the expo in a press release, two live TV interviews – including 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS – newsletters in town, and social media.
A spokesman from Mayor Jacob Frey’s office said the city “disagrees [Green’s] description of events” throughout the memo.
“Councilman Vetaw, he literally apologized over and over again,” Smith said Tuesday.
City officials, including Vetaw, met with vendors Monday night at Smith’s business, The Dream Shop.
“But what I want is a public apology,” Smith said.
He also asked for monetary reparations for himself and for all the local vendors who lost money.
Asked if he was asking for the $2,000 he said he lost from participating in the expo, Smith said, “At the very least.”
“I say that because yes, that’s the money I put in, and that’s the time, and that covers the staff and all that stuff,” he said. “But also, what’s the money we could have made that we didn’t make, right? So it’s more than $2,000.”
“We, at the end of the day, deserve that. Like, it’s an absolute disaster,” Smith concluded.
Green did not respond to multiple requests for comment Tuesday and last week.
Mayor Frey’s office responded to his claims of racism in the city and other questions from 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS REPORTERS in the statement below:
REPORTER: How did the mayor’s office respond to Green’s claim that Minneapolis “didn’t even make the list to be considered doing anti-racism work”?
The City disagrees with the nature of the events outlined in the memo. There are many City staff who work tirelessly to make this Expo event a success, and it is disappointing to see them publicly criticized for the hard work they do for the city and its residents.
The City is well aware of the toll structural racism takes on our residents, businesses and workers. The mayor and city council took a step to improve racial equity during the 2022 budget cycle by elevating the former division to the Racial Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (REIB) department. In doing so, the City improves the influence and scope of this work in the City’s business. The City is supporting its creation of the department by investing nearly $800,000 more for the 2023 budget than last year and increasing staff capacity.
Over the past few years, City leadership has also worked to build a more inclusive workplace and embed equity in policy and practice. Just this year, the mayor allocated significant funds to develop an anti-racist training curriculum and the City has partnered with third-party experts to deliver anti-racist training sessions to City leadership. Last year, the City also revamped its procurement processes to prioritize local vendors within the Target Market Program. We have taken – and will continue to take – concrete steps to support the Black community, especially when planning large community events.
We are committed to the success of the REIB department. We will be publicly posting for a new director soon and will support REIB staff through this transition period.
REPORTER: Where did the extra $435K that the council approved a week before the event come from?
After realizing that additional funds were needed to ensure the Expo took place, the City Council acted on February 17 to allocate $435,000 to support the event. The total amount budgeted for the Expo, except for the action taken on February 17, is still being accessed by the City. The City is still in the process of calculating and paying invoices.
REPORTER: The mayor’s chief of staff was described during the meeting with the expo vendors yesterday. Did the office apologize? And for what in particular?
City leaders met yesterday with local Black Northside business owners who expressed frustration surrounding the City’s approach to contracts and vendors for the recent Expo. City staff apologized that the City did not better engage with Black community members and business leaders prior to this event.
The City’s Target Market Program prioritizes historically underserved small businesses in the City’s purchasing and contracting policies. We are collectively committed to strengthening partnerships with local, small, minority-owned businesses for all future events.
REPORTER: Does the mayor’s office/city intend to compensate the vendors who lost money for participating in the event in any way?
The City is exploring legal options.
REPORTER: Does the city plan to try the event again next year?
Every February the City sponsors and produces several events celebrating Black History Month and the Black community in Minneapolis. City leadership has begun discussing plans for 2024 and is meeting with representatives from the Minneapolis Black Employee Network (MBEN) to collect feedback on the event this February.
The City is eager to review the results of the audit, and has not yet made a determination to host the event next year.
Read Green’s full memo below:
