A U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) flyer that was made by the agency's Privacy and Diversity Office (PDO) has caused some drama within the country's largest law enforcement agency because sources say the flyer, while well-intentioned, is divisive.
The flyer was sent out to the agency alongside CBP Acting Commissioner Troy Miller's message commemorating Black History Month. The flyer includes pictures of figures such as Martin Luther King Jr., former President Barack Obama, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), Rev. Jesse Jackson, and Colin Kaepernick.
In the center of the flyer, there is a word cloud that includes words such as:
- Black
- Activist
- Gospel
- Justice
- Hip Hop
- #BlackPower
- #BlackLivesMatter
- #Blackgirlsrock
- George Floyd
- Colin Kaepernick
- Michael Brown
Obtained by Townhall
An email from the agency, which was reviewed by Townhall, encouraged employees to "participate in local Diversity and Inclusion Program Committee activities at headquarters and various field offices in honor of National Black History Month."
One CBP source in the Baltimore Field Office said someone printed out the flyer and posted it on a board within the building, causing a little bit of drama because some of the names included are vehemently anti-police. The source said there is confusion "at the divisive nature and the tone of it" because "BLM hates us, so does Maxine Waters. Kaepernick hates us. They’re anti-police advocates against the nation's largest police agency."
Black Lives Matter said CBP "like other law enforcement agencies, are rooted in white supremacy and a history of slave-catching" in the aftermath of Border Patrol agents being falsely accused of whipping Haitians illegally crossing into Del Rio, Texas in 2021. BLM perpetuated the false narrative in their press release:
"When we say #DefundThePolice, we mean all the police, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), who are demonstrating their slave-catching roots, riding horseback, and beating Haitian asylum-seekers with whips."
Kaepernick wore socks depicting police officers as pigs during his protests during the National Anthem before the start of football games. Micheal Brown's case popularized the "Hands Up, Don't Shoot" slogan and sentiment against police officers due to witnesses claiming Brown raised his hands before Officer Darren Wilson shot him, but the final investigation found no evidence to support those claims.
"This is just another attempt by a federal agency to show how woke it is. The office that made this is also responsible for responding to FOIA requests, so I would rather they not spend time making flyers like this and instead work on not taking six months to respond to a FOIA request," one Border Patrol agent told Townhall.
According to CBP, the PDO "utilizes local Diversity and Inclusion Program Committees (DIPCs), comprised of U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) employee volunteers, to build upon diversity awareness and inclusion within our workforce. PDO staff provides local CBP management and DIPCs with leadership, support, and direction in the execution of CBP’s Diversity and Inclusion Management Plan and affirmative employment obligations."
"Each year the theme for National Black History Month is selected by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, established on September 9, 1915, by Dr. Carter G. Woodson. This year’s theme is 'Black Resistance in the Past, Present, and Future.' The poster includes names and historical reference representative of Black Resistance. CBP distributed the poster along with information about the process for establishing the theme to advance the educational intent of Black History Month," a CBP spokesperson told Townhall.