A former fundraiser for the Congaree Rivekeeper organization was fired, and she said it came after speaking her mind about racism.
Now, she is calling for new leadership at the environmental organization.
There are disagreements about what led to her firing, but both Brittany Kilpatrick and the Congaree Riverkeeper’s board confirm she was fired on June 17.
Kilpatrick, the former development coordinator at the riverkeeper group, said she had been posting on her Facebook page about racism and the environmental movement, and said the riverkeeper organization didn’t like that.
In a June 14 letter to the board, which Kilpatrick shared on Facebook along with her termination letter, she accused members of the riverkeeper organization of making racist statements about Muslims and Asians, as well as having a culture geared toward white males.
The riverkeeper group said in the termination letter it isn’t racist and was not taking action against her because of Facebook posts. It said she had become hostile to the organization.
In that letter, board chair Steve de Kozlowski acknowledged the accusations, calling them “attacks.” He said they raised questions about Kilpatrick’s ability to “work amicably and in the best interest of the Congaree Riverkeeper organization going forward.”
Kilpartrick couldn’t be an effective advocate for the organization, which was necessary in her role as development coordinator, the board and the group’s executive director Bill Stangler said Monday in a news release.
Kilpatrick said she was meeting her goals and fundraising objective.
“They said ‘We don’t know how you can harbor these beliefs and do your job,’ ’’ Kilpatrick told The State. “I’ve obviously been able to harbor these beliefs and achieve and exceed all the fundraising goals.’’
Stangler told The State that Kilpatrick’s performance was not evaluated on tracking the money she raised.
“That’s something she’s asserting on her own,” Stangler said.
She said her commitment to anti-racist work is nothing new, and the former Charleston resident held the same beliefs when she was hired by the riverkeeper in late 2017.
Kilpatrick said her critiques of the environmental movement, and specific criticisms against Stangler, created discomfort for the board.
She said Stangler used racist language when referring to an encounter with members of the Islamic Center of Columbia. Kilpatrick also said Stangler “expressed reluctance and resentment toward working with and advocating for the Lower Richland community.”
Kilpatrick called Stangler self-centered, saying he put his personal priorities above the concerns of the riverkeeper organization.
Stangler rebutted the accusations of racism. He said the incident involving the Islamic Center happened five years before Kilpatrick was hired, and she misinterpreted a retelling of what happened.
Stangler walked through a portion of the parking lot belonging to the Islamic Center to collect water quality samples from a tributary of Rocky Branch, a stream which runs behind the property, according to the news release. When asked by someone at the Center to leave, he did so immediately.
In retelling this to Kilpatrick several years later, Stangler said it was strange a place of worship would ask them to leave, prompting Kilpatrick to say their presence there was an act of white supremacy, according to the news release.
According to Kilpatrick’s letter, Stangler said “maybe if they were nicer, people wouldn’t call them terrorists.”
Stangler also told The State there were issues with members of the Lower Richland community when the riverkeeper was working to develop a regional waste water system to address concerns about water quality. But he denied any racism.
“It’s a complex issue that divided people in the community, but none of that is evidence of racism by me or the organization. That was an oversimplification she made,” Stangler said.
Another incident Kilpatrick reported was when another board member made “a series of racist and pejorative sounds,” when Kilpatrick said she was going to the Korean Festival in 2019.
“The Congaree Riverkeeper organization vehemently denies her allegations” of racism, Stangler and the board said in Monday’s news release.
In her letter, she took aim at the board as well, saying it lacked diversity, adding it is not interested in adding “people of color.” She said Stangler should be replaced as executive director and the board should be reorganized to include a more diverse set of members.
“It is my responsibility as a member of this staff, the local environmental community, and a citizen of Columbia to speak up and out for the betterment of Congaree Riverkeeper and our overall mission ‘as we fight together for a more just and equitable South Carolina,’ ” Kilpatrick wrote in the letter. “Holding myself and my fellow leadership accountable is a vital step in this fight.”
The riverkeeper’s board has 10 members, including three women and one Black member, Stangler said. He said diversifying the board has been a stated goal but it is not a quick process.
Board members serve two-year terms, and in the past three years only one board member has been replaced, with no new additions in 2020, according to Stangler. In spite of that lack of turnover, Stangler said he is willing to engage with people who have an interest in joining the board.
“Her letter to the (board) in which she offers recommendations for ways she thought the organization could be improved is the first time the organization has seen the vast majority of these recommendations,” the news release issued Monday said. riverkeeper organization!!! it said in the release. “Ms. Kilpatrick has had over two years to discuss these concerns with the board but chose not to until now.”
On June 17, the board made the decision to fire Kilpatrick, de Kozlowski said.
“The organization does not need a development coordinator who feels they have to lie about the organization in order to do their job, as you told Bill and me during our meeting,” de Kozlowski said in the letter. “Instead, it is crucial the organization has a development coordinator who believes in its mission. … Therefore, the board has made the decision to terminate your employment effective today.”
He added a vote of confidence in Stangler. He said the riverkeeper’s executive director has done an excellent job ensuring Columbia’s rivers are clean and safe, and Stangler continues to have the board’s “full and unqualified support.”
“The board has investigated her allegations and found they had no merit,” it said in the news release.
Kilpatrick said being fired was “disheartening,” because she believed in the riverkeeper group’s mission.
The Congaree Riverkeeper organization is a non-profit dedicated to protecting the three main rivers that flow through Columbia: the Congaree, the Saluda and the Broad. In the release, it said its mission is to “ensure our rivers are safe and healthy so they can be enjoyed by all people.”
The organization had its beginnings in 2008 and has since become perhaps the Midlands most visible environmental organization.
Under Stangler, the group has focused on a number of initiatives, including sampling water for pollution and fighting court battles to stop sewage discharges. The riverkeeper also has been vocal in its push to remove coal tar from the bottom of the Congaree in Columbia.
Most recently, the organization has pushed for more intense study of the environmental impacts from a nuclear fuel factory on Bluff Road, not far from the river.