Post by Logan on Dec 13, 2016 2:42:18 GMT -6
Crowd calls for school official who wore 'blackface' to step down: Superintendent tries to have speakers removed; authorities defend public's rights
BLEVINS, Ark.—Civil rights advocates protesting the wearing of blackface by a white school board member in rural Hempstead County, Ark., clashed Monday evening with the board's president and the school district's superintendent.
Board member Ted Bonner, who posted photos of himself taken at a Halloween party on Facebook—in blackface, wearing overalls and fake, crooked teeth while holding a sign that read "Blak (sic) lives matters"—mumbled loudly as he pushed his way through a crowd of media, protesters and members of the public who assembled in the Blevins Ark., School District administration building. Bonner's entrance occurred as NAACP Arkansas State Conference President Rizelle Aaron addressed members of the community seated in chairs about an hour before a 7 p.m. school board meeting was scheduled to begin.
"The NAACP is not about black folks," Aaron said. "We're about civil rights and human rights for all people. We are here for all the citizens of Blevins."
Bonner's mocking of the Black Lives Matter movement has sparked local and national outrage, but Bonner has refused to resign. When protesters and media arrived, Superintendent Billy Lee allowed them to use the administration building with the caveat they quit the public discussion five minutes before the meeting began.
Read more: www.texarkanagazette.com/news/texarkana-region/story/2016/dec/13/crowd-calls-school-official-who-wore-blackface-step-down-superintendent-tries-have-speakers-removed-authorities-defend-publics-rights/653015/
BLEVINS, Ark.—Civil rights advocates protesting the wearing of blackface by a white school board member in rural Hempstead County, Ark., clashed Monday evening with the board's president and the school district's superintendent.
Board member Ted Bonner, who posted photos of himself taken at a Halloween party on Facebook—in blackface, wearing overalls and fake, crooked teeth while holding a sign that read "Blak (sic) lives matters"—mumbled loudly as he pushed his way through a crowd of media, protesters and members of the public who assembled in the Blevins Ark., School District administration building. Bonner's entrance occurred as NAACP Arkansas State Conference President Rizelle Aaron addressed members of the community seated in chairs about an hour before a 7 p.m. school board meeting was scheduled to begin.
"The NAACP is not about black folks," Aaron said. "We're about civil rights and human rights for all people. We are here for all the citizens of Blevins."
Bonner's mocking of the Black Lives Matter movement has sparked local and national outrage, but Bonner has refused to resign. When protesters and media arrived, Superintendent Billy Lee allowed them to use the administration building with the caveat they quit the public discussion five minutes before the meeting began.
Read more: www.texarkanagazette.com/news/texarkana-region/story/2016/dec/13/crowd-calls-school-official-who-wore-blackface-step-down-superintendent-tries-have-speakers-removed-authorities-defend-publics-rights/653015/