‘Ignorant’ and ‘racist’: School board president confronted over ‘White History Month’ post

A former employee of a Pennsylvania school district shared a Facebook post from the school board president that many interpreted as racist, The Bradford Era reports.

The post from school board President April Walters read, “I forgot, When is White History month.”

Tyree Harris distributed a copy of the post at a school board meeting on Dec. 7. “As an African American male, I will not go for this. There’s no need for that,” Harris said while school board members looked at the post. “That’s ignorant, that’s racist.”

Walters then claimed that there was nothing racist about the post, to which Harris replied, "Are you kidding me?"

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When asked about the post after the meeting, Walters again said that she didn't think it was racist.

“It was a simple question. When is it? The First Amendment gives us the freedom of speech — ALWAYS, not only when it suits people or a political agenda," she wrote in an email to The Bradford Era, adding that “every race should have a time for their heritage to be taught and celebrated. Yes, that includes White History, Black History, Native American History, Hispanic and any other race.”

Walters suggested that Harris is only trying to gain attention because he plans to make another run for a school board seat. She also accused him of yelling at and belittling board members at past meetings and in public “and is frequently out of line with his tone and volume level.”