THE US Embassy in Port-of-Spain raises the Black Lives Matter (BLM) flag at its Queen’s Park West compound on Wednesday confirming the commitment to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion.
The embassy in a press release on Wednesday stated that the flag will fly for the entire day on the same pole as the US flag.
The choice of June 30 to fly the BLM flag coincides with an embassy internal event in which embassy staff engaged in a virtual open forum on the 2020 murder of George Floyd, race and racism, and police-minority group relations. The staff forum arose from the Biden-Harris administration’s prioritising diversity, equity, and inclusion at all levels of the United States Government, the embassy stated.
US Chargé d’Affaires Shante Moore said, “We take the mandate from President Biden and Vice President Harris seriously. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has also created a Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer position for the first time in the history of the Department of State. That officer reports directly to the Secretary. We have a long way to go to correct historic, systemic, and institutional racism and injustices.”
He added, “We have created a platform within the Embassy to discuss these issues. And we have the unwavering commitment from the Biden-Harris Administration’s most senior leadership that prioritizing diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility is also a national security imperative.”
The murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020 galvanised a global call to end the injustices of systemic racism in the United States and around the world, he said.
President Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act on June 17, 2021. Juneteenth or June 19 is an annual holiday to commemorate the contributions made by Black Americans to the United States, their resilience and perseverance despite their history of enslavement, and the continued fight against systemic racism.
On Saturday, the embassy also flew the pride flag for the day.
He stated, “June 26 also marks an important turning point in the fight for LGBTQI+ rights in the United States: it is the anniversary of the historic Obergefell v. Hodges Supreme Court decision in 2015, which ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples and is the law of the land.”
