A Michigan school member recently had the opportunity to backtrack on blatantly racist social media posts she made in December against White people. Instead, Kesha Hamilton doubled down on her unhinged rantings.
The Jackson school board member tweeted that “Whiteness” is evil and slammed it for “its ability to manipulate and be dishonest.” Hamilton hardly stopped there.
Responding to a user who commented on being a Black man hiking in the forest, she told him the last thing he had to worry about is encountering a wild animal, though that may turn out to be a threat. Then she added, “more dangerous is any Whites you may see on the trail…be safe!”
Needless to say, district parents are upset over the obvious discrimination in statements made by an elected official who is supposed to care for all children’s education.
During a recent meeting, one concerned parent questioned how children may “feel safe when physical characteristics over which they have no control are being called evil and dangerous.”
Fire Kesha Hamilton for this pic.twitter.com/EP57JxDkcJ
— Nate B (@natedog_906) January 18, 2023
Several parents called for her resignation, and another noted that Hamilton merely added to racial disparities “by your hurtful remarks.” One parent, Gina Hastings, called the board member “angry and bitter” and said a person in her influential position should be “held to a high standard.”
Hamilton, who is employed as a racial equity consultant, also had supporters speak up at the meeting.
Jackson High School history teacher Paris Anderson recalled that “never once in these five years has she questioned me, a White man — a conservative Christian White man at that — in regards to teaching her children about their history, a history that is not mine.”
Hamilton defended her views by claiming that “Whiteness is a construct, a normalization with a foundation in White supremacy.” She referenced the murder of George Floyd and the Buffalo, N.Y., mass shooting as recent examples of this normalization.
And in defense of her comparison of encountering White people in the wilderness to running into animals, Hamilton said that Black people face challenges in protecting their right to freedom of movement. She claimed the nation has a long history of denying this basic liberty.
