Three of a Florida state legislator’s Democratic peers should be rebuked for their decision to remove the phrase “white advantage” from a statement they issued, he said.
Democratic state Rep. Omari Hardy plans to ask leaders in the Palm Beach County Democratic Party on Thursday to “censure and condemn” three members of the county school board after they voted to remove the phrase, which received backlash from the community, from an equity statement it adopted May 5.
“The resolution will censure and condemn the three Democratic school board members who voted with the racist mob rather than listening to the multi-racial coalition that urged them to leave the equity statement unchanged,” he told the Palm Beach Post.
FLORIDA SCHOOL BOARD VOTES TO CHANGE CONFEDERATE-HONORING SCHOOL NAMES
Four Democratic members of the board voted to remove the phrase, including Marcia Andrews, Frank Barbieri, Karen Brill, and Barbara McQuinn.
Hardy only planned to ask for the censure of Andrews, Barbieri, and Brill because he incorrectly assumed McQuinn was not a Democrat, according to the Palm Beach Post. The Washington Examiner reached out to Hardy to ask whether McQuinn would be added to the list but did not immediately hear back.
The school board declared the county’s public school system was “committed to dismantling structures rooted in white advantage” in the original statement. Copies were sent home with students, and hundreds of parents reportedly complained, according to the Palm Beach Post.
Brill proposed the phrase be removed from the statement following the backlash, and the board voted 4-3 to remove it.
The censure will have no practical effect, but Hardy, who announced in April he’s running for Congress, still believes the move is important, he said.
“There must be consequences for quailing to the racist mob instead of sticking with people of color who give their heart and soul to not just the party but the party’s causes,” he added.
“I’m not worried about that — those are just words,” Andrews said. “I like action. I’m someone that’s going to continue to take action. We can say equity all we want, but we need to take action to make equity happen.”
Barbieri has “always made decisions based on what I believe is in the best interests of our children,” he said.
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“I’m not focused on politics right now,” Brill added. “My focus is on graduations, on opening the schools up safely next year.”
The Washington Examiner contacted Andrews, Barbieri, Brill, and McQuinn for further comment on the matter.
