By Erica C. Barnett

A recently concluded investigation into Seattle Office for Civil Rights director that Derrick Wheeler-Smith details allegations that Wheeler-Smith went to a strip club in Alabama during an official City of Seattle-sponsored trip to civil rights history sites in the South, along with other men who were on the trip, according to sources familiar with the incident.

A report on the investigation concluded that Wheeler-Smith subjected “a subordinate employee to unwelcome conduct of a sexually explicit nature during a work-related trip” but did not specify that the conduct that made the employee uncomfortable involved going to the strip club with his boss.

The report, for which PubliCola has filed a records request, also found it more likely than not that Wheeler-Smith made “repeated comments of a sexual nature” to employees.

Mayor Katie Wilson’s office has not responded to multiple requests for comment about the future of the office. Wheeler-Smith, along with his deputy, Fahima Mohamed, has been on administrative leave since March.

The January 2023 trip, organized by a group called the Empower Initiative, included visits to important sites related to the Civil Rights Movement in Alabama, including the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, and the Alabama State Capitol. Staff from then-mayor Bruce Harrell’s office, SOCR, the city’s Office of Arts and Culture, and the diversion group Community Passageways, a city contractor, also reportedly went on the trip.

The Empower Initiative, run by consultant Ben McBride, offers these trips, or “learning labs,” as a “team building experience [that] translates the concept of belonging from inspiring theory to real-life practice,” according to the organization’s website.

On the final night of the trip, several of the men, including Wheeler-Smith, left their hotel in Birmingham and went to a  strip club to celebrate a staffer’s birthday, according to accounts of the incident.

Others who participated in the civil rights tour included city staffers who did not accompany the men to the strip club. It’s unclear how many of these staffers were aware of their colleagues’ nighttime jaunt.

Not only was the secretive all-male side quest arguably inappropriate for a city-sponsored trip, the Office for Civil Rights’ mission includes promoting gender equality and empowerment, a commitment staffers would later accuse Wheeler-Smith of flouting on numerous occasions.

As we reported earlier this year, employees accused Wheeler-Smith of making inappropriate sexual comments, belittling Black women, and dismissing staff concerns about the civil rights of LGBTQ+ people, Asian Americans, and Latinos targeted by ICE, among other marginalized groups.

A spokesperson for SOCR responded to PubliCola’s questions about the investigation and alleged strip club visit by saying, “I don’t have that information, and the Department is otherwise not allowed to comment on an open HR investigation.”

The head of the Empower Initiative, Ben McBride, recently wrote a Subatackpraising Wheeler-Smith; the post, titled “A Leadership Journey of Becoming” called the SOCR director “one of those rare leaders who understands that structural work and inner work belong together.”

The Empower Initiative was one of the partners for SOCR’s planned “Bridges of Belonging Community Storytelling Showcase,” along with We Deliver Care, Community Passageways, and Beautifulle LLC. Wheeler-Smith’s half-brother Davis founded Community Passageways and another diversion group that contracts with the city, Choose 180. He is also aco-founder of We Deliver Care, which is run by Wheeler-Smith’s wife Stephanie. Beautifulle was founded by Wheeler-Smith’s former boss at the religious nonprofit World Vision, Leonetta Elaiho. The Bridges of Belonging event was postponed indefinitely in March.

Editor’s note: This story originally mis-identified Davis’ current role with the three group he co-founded. We apologize for the error.