(FRESNO, CA, 6/25/20) – The Central California office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CC) today welcomed the recent resignations of two school officials after they posted bigoted content on their Facebook pages.
READ: Madera County Board of Education President resigns amid social media backlash (Your Central Valley)
READ: Central Unified school official in Fresno resigns after making ‘insensitive’ comments (Fresno Bee)
Fresno’s Central Unified School District trustee Richard Atkins came under fire for a bigoted Facebook post he shared last weekend.
He posted, “If you don’t Love the Country you live in, then go back to the country you or your ancestors came from. I’m SICK of this S***.”
He resigned Tuesday from his position.
At the beginning of this week, the private Facebook account of Sara Wilkins, the president of the Madera County Board of Education, shared an image of a Confederate flag and stated: “I am proud to be white.”
The post also read, “I bet no one passes this on because they are scared of be called a racist.”
A change.org petition, “Sara Wilkins needs to step down, resign, or be fired,” gained more than 1,500 signatures.
The Madera County Superintendent of Schools announced Wilkins’ resignation Thursday.
In a statement, CAIR-CC Outreach Director Sukaina Hussain said:
“We welcome the resignations of these public officials after their disturbing posts. Schools should be safe spaces for students, but how can that be when some of the highest officials are embracing and sharing bigotry? We must ensure that bigotry, racism and hatred are not tolerated in our communities. We must stand together to call out and condemn intolerance in all forms and hold our officials accountable.”
CAIR-CC is an office of CAIR, America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice and empower American Muslims.
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CONTACT: Communications Manager Kalin Kipling-Mojaddedi, 916-441-6269, kkipling@cair.com; Outreach Director Sukaina Hussain, 847-924-9592, s.hussain@cair.com
