Tag: Racism

School District Apologizes for 'Trump Perry' Sign at Game

A West Virginia school superintendent has issued an apology after some said they were offended by a banner at a football game that read “Trump Perry.”

Media reported that Brooke County School Superintendent Toni Paesano Shute apologized on Monday to the community of Pittsburgh Perry High School for the “insensitive, intimidating, and offensive sign.” The banner was seen in the student section of Brooke High School at Friday night’s game.

Shute said the district would use the incident to teach students values like respect and dignity.

Shute asked for forgiveness from all who were offended, saying she hoped that the school communities could move forward united against hatred.

Capito Criticizes Trump, Says He Should Unite the Country

A Republican U.S. senator from one of Donald Trump’s most popular states says the president’s comments about the violent white supremacist rally in Virginia has created a firestorm and that he should unite the country against racism.

West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito told the Charleston Gazette-Mail in a telephone interview that Trump’s most egregious comments were referring to some of the neo-Nazi protesters as “very fine people.” Capito told the newspaper she could not find a fine face in the crowd and that she was not going to try.

The first-term senator rarely criticizes Republican leadership.

But she said Trump has “not handled the situation very well at all” and said “anti-Semitic, racist, white supremacists … should have no place in this country.”

Officials Look into Group's Finances after Racist Obama Post

West Virginia officials are investigating finances at a nonprofit group whose director came under fire after making a racist comment about first lady Michelle Obama on Facebook.

News outlets report state Bureau of Senior Services and Appalachian Area Agency on Aging officials visited the Clay County Development Corporation Wednesday to meet employees.

Commission of Senior Services Robert Roswall says the visit involved potential violations of the state’s contract with the center, whose director, Pamela Ramsey Taylor, was suspended after making the post following Trump’s election. Taylor is scheduled to return to work Dec. 23.

Roswall says Wednesday’s visit wasn’t related to Taylor’s employment status or her social media comments.

The Clay County organization provides services to elderly and low-income residents. It’s funded through state and federal grants and local fees.

WVU President Condemns Breitbart Editor's Slur Targeting Professor

This article has been updated to clarify the desription of Breitbart News Network.   

West Virginia University President E. Gordon Gee released a statement today that defended his decision to allow Milo Yiannopoulos to speak on campus while also condemning Yiannopoulos’ attack on a faculty member. 

During a tour stop on Thursday, Dec. 2, at West Virginia University, Yiannopoulos – an editor for Breitbart News Network – praised WVU’s Mountaineer mascot, particularly for the fact that he fires a rifle during football games. Former executive chair Steve Bannon has described Breibart as “the platform for the alt-right,” a name that encompasses white nationalists and others embracing white identity politics, including white supremacy. 

Then he added, “There’s one thing about this college however that I’ve got to tell you, I’m not fond of,” he said. A slide with a photo of Daniel Brewster, a sociology instructor who is openly gay, and a homophobic slur appeared on the screen. 

Yiannopoulos is known nationally for his sexist and racist stances. The audience responded with laughter, and Yiannopoulos continued to make fun of Brewster’s weight and sexuality.

Gee issued a statement Friday defending the university’s decision to invite Yiannopoulos to speak, while condemning the speaker’s attack on Brewster. 

“It is one thing to share differing opinions that others may find offensive,” Gee said in his statement. “It is another to be defamatory and target individuals. I personally condemn the tactic this speaker chose to vindictively attack one of our faculty members, Daniel Brewster.” 

Yiannopoulos went after Brewster and accused Brewster, who is openly gay, of holding an event for World AIDS Day during Yiannopoulos’s talk to pull the audience from the speaker’s event.

But a university spokesperson said that Brewster’s event was scheduled in July by the College Republicans, months before Yiannopoulos was invited to speak.. 

Gee and WVU students also took to Twitter today to show support for Brewster, using the hashtag “#BecauseofBrewster” to publicly state the impact Brewster had on their lives. 

Civil Rights Activist, Ruby Sales, to Speak with Residents in Charles Town

Civil Rights activist Ruby Sales is coming to Charles Town Saturday to speak to the community and open up a dialogue on racism and injustice.

Ruby Sales was just 17-years-old in 1965 when a shotgun-wielding resident of Hayneville, Alabama, fired at her as she and a group of activists tried to enter a grocery store to buy soda. Jonathan Daniels, a 26-year-old from New Hampshire, was with her group. Daniels stepped in front of Sales and was killed instantly. Ever since, Sales has devoted her life to being a civil rights activist.

Now 66-years-old and a resident of Atlanta, Georgia, Sales travels the country in the hopes of training a new generation of peace and justice workers – addressing issues such as racism, poverty, the prison-for-profit complex, voting rights, and unjust police and vigilante attacks. Sales is nationally recognized as a human-rights activist and social critic.

On Saturday, Sales will speak first at the Charles Town Library with young people ages middle school and up. She will then move on to the Old Opera House, which is also in Charles Town, for a second talk that’s open to the rest of the community.

  • “A Conversation with Young People” will be held at 3:00 PM at the Charles Town Library.
  • “Community Dialogue” will be held at 7:00 PM at the Old Opera House.

Both talks are free.

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