Acting Assistant for Global Public Affairs Secretary of State Elizabeth Trudeau visited the region on Jan. 27 and specifically shared time with Black journalists because “I want to know what’s going on in St. Louis.”
“As we try to become better Americans, we should think about the America we are showing the world.”
As video of the violent police beating that claimed the life of in Memphis, Trudeau shared her thoughts on police violence, foreign affairs, and the importance of local news representing the communities they serve.
Trudeau is a senior member of the Foreign Service and previously served as the Principal Deputy Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs. She has also served in Ireland and Pakistan as the U.S. Consul General.
Trudeau said she was in Ireland during the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the demonstrations following his death. As she watched the story unfold, she received a call from the chief constable of Northern Ireland.
“He boldly told me that the U.S. has a problem with police violence,” she said. “This was a blow to the chest.”
While traveling abroad, which is often, Trudeau said racism, economic disparities, slavery, and Roe v. Wade are topics of which international officials inquire.
She said, “Americans live in their own bubbles.”
“They follow news and other media outlets that reinforce their ideologies. No wonder this country is so divided. I think it’s all of our jobs to fix this.”
She recommends adding media literacy to school curriculum beginning in first grade to teach young students how to know factual stories from fabricated ones.
“We have to start somewhere,” said Trudeau.
She is candid about economic issues in journalism, beginning with wages and benefits for reporters.
“This then creates a ripple effect of more reporters leaving the industry and some of the leaving are darn good reporters,” she said.
“People have to pay their bills, I’m never going to blame anyone for trying to make the bottom line work.”
With St. Louis becoming a new home for hundreds of Afghan refugees, Trudeau discussed the challenge immigrants of color face, especially when it comes to citizenship.
She blames “slow bureaucracy,”
“I don’t want to make any excuses for it, and it’s unfair,” she said.
“I think bureaucracy can be fixed especially as the world changes. As we try to become better Americans, we should think about the America we are showing the world.”
Ashley Winters is a Report for America reporter for the St. Louis American.
