According to reports, the state of Washington plans to spend around $83,000 on a staff diversity training program that will feature the Director of Drag Queen Story Hour.
According to the event’s description, Jonathan Hamilt, Executive Director of Drag Queen Story Hour, will speak about the necessity of LGBTQAI+ family programming and how the power of the art form known as drag teaches children about celebrating diversity and inclusivity.
To cure his “inner child,” Hamilt, who dresses in drag himself, wants to provide “affirming and accepting programming for kids,” according to his biography.
Multiple times, Drag Queen Story Hour has been found allowing convicted sex predators proximity to children at their events.
The Washington DEI Empowerment Conference is a series of weekly June speeches focusing on diversity, equity, and anti-racism topics.
Hayden Michaels, deputy communications director for the Office of Financial Management, revealed the $83,000 expenditure.
There will be 16 sessions, each with a capacity of 5,000; this amounts to $1.06 for each seat.
On June 21st, the keynote address is “Drag Story Hour and Fireside Chat.”
Trans-Formations Project’s Sam Mendum-Purdy and Alex Petrovina, dedicated to educating about the “anti-trans legislative crisis currently sweeping the United States,” will also be speaking at the event.
According to the abstract, the people working in talent acquisition and Human Resources have “unique opportunities to create equity and inclusion in very intentional ways in our day-to-day workflow.”
Tangi Tash and Lisa Grund, the speakers, want to make “authenticity and antiracism a way of life at work.”
“The Elephant in the Room” panelists will address racism as America’s “original and most persistent sin.” Phillip Jacobs, a former director of the Washington Employers for Racial Equity, will give the presentation.
