The Arkansas Education Association has joined in the call for a Blevins School Board member to resign after photos of him in apparent blackface have been posted online.
Board member Ted Bonner was seen in photos posted and shared on social media sites with his face painted black while he is wearing overalls and a straw hat. He was holding a sign that read "Blak [sic] Lives Matters" in the photos.
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Should a Blevins School Board member who was seen in photos online wearing apparent blackface resign from his post?
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Blevins -- population 310 -- is about 16 miles north of Hope in Hempstead County.
Nearly 30 percent of the population in that southwest Arkansas county is black and about 60 percent is white, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data.
Efforts to reach Bonner for comment have been unsuccessful.
"It is the duty of all educators to ensure all students have a safe and supportive learning environment," the Arkansas Education Association statement reads in part. "When a school district leader compromises students' sense of safety, it is our duty to call into question his ability to continue to serve and his capacity to make sound decisions for students."
On Nov. 15, the state conference of the NAACP asked for Bonner to step down.
In a statement, NAACP conference President Rizelle Aaron called the photos an "offensive and hateful" act that showed a "lack of social consciousness." Aaron noted the district's "racially and culturally diverse" student population, calling Bonner's act "egregious."
"Elected officials have an obligation to be a role model for our future leaders and [Bonner] has conducted himself in a manner that is unbecoming of an elected official and has brought embarrassment and negative national attention to the Blevins School District and the great state of Arkansas," Aaron wrote.
School Board President Justice West said in a statement that the photos were "very upsetting and distasteful," adding that "the school board nor the school administration holds the power under the law to discipline or remove a school board member."
"The issue was addressed at [a Nov. 14] board meeting along with a sincere apology from the individual board member for the thoughtless act," West said.
State Desk on 11/25/2016