U.S. Ambassador to France Hides Embassy’s Historic Portraits in the Name of ‘Diversity’

Photographs of people better reflecting the past have replaced historical portraits of Revolutionary War commanders at the U.S. Embassy France. “diversity,” including a socialist labor leader and a transgender activist famous for participating in a riot.

Denise Bauer, President Joe Biden’s Ambassador to France, is here Announcement She announced that on February 3rd, she had replaced portraits of her predecessors from the embassy’s atrium by pictures of contemporary Hispanic celebrities.

“Proud that the entrance to our embassy now better reflects the incredible diversity of my country,” said Bauer, a Democratic fundraiser. “A value that I carry wherever I go in France.”

Charles Cotesworth Pinckney served as minister to France from 1796-1797, and was one of the portraits Bauer rebuffed. A portrait of Pinckney, a signer of the Constitution and general in George Washington’s Continental Army, was replaced by a photograph of transgender activist Sylvia Rivera, who claimed to have played a prominent role in the 1969 Stonewall Riots in New York City.

“I have been given the credit for throwing the first Molotov cocktail by many historians but I always like to correct it,” Rivera The 2001 riots. “I threw the second one, I did not throw the first one!”

The embassy’s focus on diversifying its portraits comes at a crucial moment in U.S.-France relations. France was occupied by Bauer a few months prior to her appointment. Recalled Its ambassador was sent from the United States to protest against a sale of military equipment. Now, the Biden administration faces the challenge to rally France and other European nations to support Ukraine and enforce sanctions on Russia during its invasion.

Bauer’s preoccupation with diversity in the embassy is consistent with Biden’s directives for the executive branch. On his first day of office, the president issued an Executive order All cabinet-level agencies requesting they evaluate their commitment “racial equity” You can also develop an “action plan” The objective is “embedding equity in the everyday business of government.”

Bauer’s redesign saw figures who played consequential roles in early American history lose their prominent position on the atrium wall. John Armstrong Jr. was the minister to France between 1804 and 1810. He later became a senator and secretary to war. Albert Gallatin, a Swiss-born man, is well-known as “America’s Swiss Founding Father,” Awarded the title of minister to France, as well as secretary to