Sunday Read: Honoring Black Whistleblowers
This National Whistleblower Center article by Justin Smulison highlights the contributions of Black whistleblowers and the importance of Black History Month was sent as part of NWC’s “Sunday Read” series. For more information like this, please join our mailing list.
February is Black History Month in the United States. National Whistleblower Center (NWC) views this month as a great opportunity to celebrate the history and accomplishments of Black whistleblowers. These whistleblowers are a critical part of our history and have taken extraordinary risks through the decades. They are formidable fraud fighters who persisted despitefacing whistleblower retaliation amplified by systemic racism.
NWC has reported on these courageous individuals, and in this Sunday Read, we spotlight a fewof the many Black Americans who, by blowing the whistle, improved transparency in their respective professions. We commend these whistleblowers and recognize how their courage has resulted in strengthened legislation and a more level playing field for all.
Bunnatine Greenhouse
A true trailblazer, Bunnatine “Bunny” Greenhouse joined the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1997 and became the first African-American woman to become its head of contracting. She also served as its highest-ranking civilian-contracting official. Her career took a turn in 2005, when she blew the whistle on a highly improper $7 billion no-bid contract to Halliburton for the repair of Iraqi oil fields following the 2003 invasion.
It was revealed in a draft audit that Haliburton had overcharged the government for fuel purchases by $61 million. Greenhouse ultimately testified in front of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee on this topic.
Following her disclosures, Greenhouse was removed from her position and demoted.Furthermore, once reassigned to a remote cubicle, someone placed a trip wire around her cubicle and she fell, permanently damaging her knee.
After a long and contentious legal battle, her attorneys, including NWC Founder & PresidentMichael Kohn, forced the Army Corps of Engineers to settle the case and provide Greenhouse with full compensation for the damages she suffered, and the legal costs associated with the contract fraud case. Greenhouse’s disclosures influenced the Defense Authorization Act Of 2009,which prohibited no-bid contracts.
Commander Kimberly Young-McLear, Ph.D.
NWC publicly supports the courageousness of Commander Kimberly Young-McLear, Ph.D., who exposed gross and unlawful misconduct at the Coast Guard.
In 2014, Young-McLear reported systemic abuses of power at the highest levels of the Coast Guard. As a result of her courage, integrity, and advocacy, the Coast Guard has since implemented more than 30 policy improvements to reduce and remove discriminatory prohibitions, including those on dreadlocks and natural hair styles for Black women on active duty. Her courage also resulted in new protections for LGBTQ+ members of the Coast Guard.
Young-McLear remains on active duty in her 19th year of service. Yet in spite of her years of service to the nation and selfless advocacy against misconduct and discrimination, Young-McLear has faced retaliation for her whistleblowing and continues to suffer from egregious psychological harm.
As previously reported, NWC, in conjunction with several advocacy groups and allies, sent a letter to President Biden in January calling for him to recognize the courageous work of whistleblower Commander Young-McLear.
Young-McLear continues to serve with distinction now, as a senior advisor, at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Her service contributes to crafting CISA’s first Strategic Plan, agency-wide culture & innovation building, which will increase job opportunities for HBCU alumni and underserved communities. Furthermore, the national cyber workforce development will have a positive impact for U.S. national security and economic prosperity for decades.
Marcel Reid
Marcel Reid channeled her leadership, commitment to truth and whistleblowing experience into a career.
Reid exposed the misuse of funds at a leading non-profit, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), whose mission was to teach impoverished people how to work their way out of poverty. Reid joined in the late 1990s and after a few years of service, was voted President of the Board and head of ACORN D.C. and Northern Virginia.
ACORN was boasting a strong membership of 400,000, but Reid questioned how impoverished people were paying the $120 annual fee. Reid compared the yearly fee to a poll tax, noting the ridiculous amount, and felt that members should be given more rights. As President of the Board,she investigated how the dues were truly being allocated.
Asking questions got Reid into trouble, and she soon found herself being retaliated against. Still Reid mobilized a task force to correct what she referred to as “the ACORN culture of acquiescence.”
As a National Director, Chair of DC ACORN, and one of a three-member Interim Management Committee to reorganize ACORN after discovering a significant embezzlement, Reid came face-to-face with the difficulties in reporting corruption. This was her first exposure to fighting entrenched corruption and her introduction to the whistleblower community.
With several others, the group known as “the ACORN 8” fought ACORN and prevailed. It was revealed that large sums of money had been embezzled by one of the founders of ACORN. Reid’s whistleblowing forced ACORN to stop misusing public funds and return to their core decentralized mission. There are no awards for non-governmental organizations (NGO) whistleblowers, and after blowing the whistle on the embezzlement, Reid was kicked off the Board, and a decision was made to allow the alleged embezzler to repay the funds.
Despite this lackluster resolution, Reid found Pacifica Radio–the largest and oldest progressive radio station in the country, with five stations and reaching an audience of 200 million. After a year on the local board, Reid was elected to serve as a director on the National Board of Pacifica Radio. In that position, she introduced a motion to have Pacifica support whistleblowers, making it the first national media organization to incorporate it into their platform. After the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act (WPEA) was passed in 2012, Pacifica’s steadfast support of whistleblowers was credited by many in the whistleblowing community as helping to reinvigorate the WPEA campaign after more than a decade of unsuccessful attempts.
After serving on the board for three terms, Marcel became the first national media whistleblower liaison for the Pacifica Foundation, the only position of its kind in media to date. She continues her efforts to shed light on corruption worldwide by actively supporting the efforts of whistleblowers globally.
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This story was written by Justin Smulison, a professional writer, podcaster and event host based in New York.
