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DC school board member criticized for 'racially offensive comments' during recent meeting

The state Board of Education does not have the power to remove police from schools and serves mostly as an advisory body.

WASHINGTON — Karen Williams, Ward 7 Representative for D.C. State Board of Education (SBOE), is calling for At-Large Representative Ashley MacLeay to resign after making what she calls "racially offensive comments" during the Board's recent virtual meeting.

In a letter to SBOE colleagues, Williams expressed outrage with MacLeay's comments before a vote on a resolution to support the removal of police officers from D.C. public schools.

"MacLeay's comments are inexcusable. She had learned nothing from this county's historic moment of unrest, where diverse groups of people united to protest the very institutional racism she embodies," Williams said. "My family has lived in D.C. for five generations. It's clear that the battle for civil rights that played out during my coming-of-age continues to persist today."

During last Wednesday's marathon Zoom call, MacLeay said that the Board moved to pass the resolution of the removal of police from D.C. public schools because they wanted to "belittle police officers" and "capitalize on an incident that took place half a nation away" – referring to the murder of George Floyd, according to Williams.

"As the Ward 7 SBOE Representative, where most of my constituents are Black, I am deeply offended, as are many of my constituents. Mrs. MacLeay's need to deliberately use racist and dehumanizing tropes about Black children in D.C. schools to justify her policy positions cannot be tolerated," Williams said. "Since she has reportedly refused to apologize, I am calling on her to resign her position on the State Board of Education immediately."

Activists with Black Lives Matter DC posted a video excerpt of MacLeay’s comments on YouTube, with the description: “UNBELIEVABLE: Ashley MacLeay’s racist rant before the vote on the Police Free Schools Resolution July 15, 2020.” 

Numerous people who watched the virtual meeting on YouTube reacted with disgust on the video's comment section.

"Can't get too much more racist than this," Douglas Smith wrote.

"Vote her out! One term is too many," another user wrote.

At the end of the meeting, near midnight, the board approved the non-binding resolution, calling for the removal of police from schools. The vote was 9 to 1 – with MacLeay being the only member voting against it.

The state Board of Education does not have the power to remove police from schools and serves mostly as an advisory body. 

Any decision regarding the use of police in D.C. schools would need to come from Mayor Bowser.

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