VERO BEACH, FLORIDA — A local government employee likened his conservative opponents to members of the Klu Klux Klan (KKK) and Southern slave traders at an Indian River Schools board meeting on March 13.
“TAKE OFF YOUR HOOD”
Kevin Browning, a human resources manager for the City of Fort Pierce, took issue with those opposed to the School District of Indian River County (SDIRC) Racial Equity Policy.
After referencing the opponents’ remarks, Browning said: “That kind of reminded me… in the movie [Django Unchained], the slaver said to the black man, ‘Didn’t I give you my last apple?’ as if he did him a favor.”
“That is just sickening and so wrong. It’s ridiculous,” continued Browning, who also works as a DJ for radio station 104.5 WFLM. “So I invite you right now: if you have those feelings, please, take off your hood. Show us who you are.”
Browning went on to imply racist motives of those challenging the policy, suggesting that supporting “each and every child in this district… might bother you in the middle of the night.”
Browning and a spokesman for the City of Fort Pierce did not respond to a request for comment on Friday.
WHAT DOES THE POLICY SAY?
Browning was standing up for a policy that seeks to achieve “racially equitable results” and remove “practices that lead to the over or under representation of any student racial/ethnic group compared to peers.”
It also calls for a “racially conscious and culturally competent” workforce and achieving “measurable decreases in district disparity and disproportionality.”
The Florida Department of Education (FDOE) flagged the policy in a letter to District Superintendent David Moore on November 18, 2022.
“It appears that some of these policies or procedures may not have been updated to comply with revised Florida law and State Board of Education rule,” FDOE Senior Chancellor Jacob Oliva wrote.
CONSERVATIVE GROUP RESPONDS
The District has been under a federal desegregation order since 1967. Browning serves as the Indian River NAACP’s representative on the Joint Equity Workgroup tasked with resolving the order, according to the conservative group Moms for Liberty.
On Tuesday, the group sent a letter to NAACP Chapter President Anthony Brown, asking him to demand Browning’s resignation from the workgroup.
“It’s apparent that Mr. Browning doesn’t believe in the Non-Discrimination policy already governing the school district,” Indian River Moms for Liberty Chair Jennifer Pippin stated in a press release.
“His comments demonstrate that he ignores the profound accomplishments in civil rights history, and those leaders who gave their lives for the full rights of ALL citizens. A person of such character who falsely accuses people of racism should not be on the Joint Equity Workgroup.”
Brown declined to comment.
