title:  White School Board Member ‘Honors’ Black History Month In The Most Racist, Appalling Way (IMAGE)
text: A school board member in Illinois is getting heat for expressing her own personal way of kicking off Black History Month: with blatant, inexcusable racism.Jeanette Ward, part of Elgin Area School District U-46, didn t waste a moment telling her peers how she really felt about African Americans during a month dedicated to the accomplishments and milestones of historical black figures. On February 1st, Ward created a post on the board s Facebook page that began with this: Blacks have become their own worst enemy, and liberal leaders do not help matters by blaming self-inflicted wounds on whites or  society. The notion that racism is holding back blacks as a group, or that better black outcomes cannot be expected until racism has been vanquished, is a dodge. And encouraging blacks to look to politicians to solve their problems does them a disservice. As the next chapter explains, one lesson maybe the most important one for blacks is that having a black man in the Oval Office is less important than having one in the home. Ward immediately received heat for this, and was torn apart at a Monday night board meeting for her  irresponsible  and  racist speech    which was so coincidentally timed on the very first day of Black History Month.One of the speakers, Myrna Becker, expressed that she was appalled by Ward s words. She said,  When we honor Black History Month, we ought to know what black history is all about. Danise Habun of the Elgin Human Relations Commission also agreed that Ward was out of line: There was nothing respectful toward or celebratory of Black History Month contained in the passage posted by Ms. Ward. If her words and the quoted passage from the book is indeed to offer a fresh perspective, it appears as if there has been a failure to communicate. It continues to blame the victim, and ignores institutionalized racism. As an official elected to represent all members of the U-46 school district, Ms. Ward is to be held to a high standard of behavior and conduct. Despite the widespread backlash she received, Ward didn t think there was anything wrong with her post, and said she was merely giving a different perspective to Black History Month. She also pointed out that the author she quoted, Jason Riley, was African American  so her post couldn t possibly be racist or disrespectful.Ward has continued to stand behind her remarks and refuses to back down. Which isn t surprising, considering that Ward has a history of being offensive and socially ignorant. Last year, Ward objected to an anti-bullying program that would address homophobic slurs in schools. According to Ward, using  gay  as an insult wasn t as bad as calling someone  retarded  or  girly  because homosexuality is a choice, while being mentally retarded or a female is not. Ward just doesn t have a clue, and has no interest in getting one. Featured image via Elgin School Board Facebook