Madera County schools president resigns following Confederate flag post on social media
The president of the Madera County school board has resigned, just days after a post on her social media account displayed a Confederate flag and the phrase “I am proud to be white.”
Sara Wilkins, who has been a member of the board for 31 years, released a statement Thursday morning through Cecilia A. Massetti, the Madera County superintendent of schools.
“After 47 years of service to the children of my community,” Wilkins wrote, “I have decided to retire and resign my position on the Madera County Board of Education.”
Wilkins represented portions of Raymond-Knowles, Bass Lake and Yosemite Unified school districts.
An online petition calling for her resignation had garnered over 1,300 signatures as of Thursday.
The social media post included a Confederate flag image and the statement: “’I’m proud to be white.’ (sic) I bet no one passes this on because they are scared of (sic) be called a racist.”
On Wednesday, Massetti said she confirmed that the post was made from Wilkins’ account.
“The images that were posted on the account are not condoned and do not represent the Madera County Board of Education or the Madera County Superintendent of Schools,” Massetti said.
Confederate flag sparks NASCAR, Bubba Wallace controversy
Wilkins’ post comes during a time when Confederate monuments have been taken down across the nation, spurred by critics who say the monuments celebrate the country’s racist history.
This month, NASCAR banned the Confederate flag from its events, after the sport’s only Black driver, Bubba Wallace, called for its end.
The Confederate flag has long been considered a hate symbol, according to Ethan Kytle, a professor and chair of the history department at Fresno State.
“Many white people across the country who fly the Confederate flag no doubt believe that it is simply a symbol of Southern (white) heritage or of Southern rebelliousness or rebelliousness in general,” he said, “(but it) simply cannot be divorced from its white supremacist origins during the Civil War or its white supremacist use in the 150 years since then.”
Racial controversies hit Fresno-area schools
Wilkins becomes the second Fresno-area elected school official to resign abruptly this week after igniting a racially-insensitive controversy.
Central Unified School District Trustee Richard Atkins resigned on Tuesday night during the school board meeting, just days after making comments on social media that critics described as “racist,” “disgusting,” and “xenophobic.”
Atkins posted to Facebook on Saturday and wrote: “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***.”
Screenshots of the post were shared hundreds of times across social media.
“I lost the faith and the trust in this community,” Atkins said. “I resign effective immediately. I wish the best for this community and district, and I am deeply, deeply, deeply sorry for any pain and sorrow I caused.”
Fresno Unified Trustee Terry Slatic faced criticism in a formal complaint released last week after a local pastor accused Slatic of telling the pastor to “go back to the barrio.” Of the three elected officials recently accused of making racist or insensitive comments, Slatic is the only one to deny making the statements.
In June, a teacher at Kings Canyon Middle School, Marcy Barlow Barnhart, faced criticism for speaking out against other educators who supported recent protests over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
“Those of you who call yourselves ‘EDUCATORS’ and are on your social media platform supporting the rioting/looting/ criminal behavior going on...... YOU DISGUST ME!” she wrote. “I pray to God my students are smarter and less ghetto than you!!”
That same week, Fresno Unified announced they were investigating a “racially insensitive incident” that happened during a Hoover High School staff end-of-year celebration. Several staff members were involved in the incident during an after-hours virtual event. No other details were given about what exactly took place.
In June, a Design Science Middle College High School staffer also came under fire for comments made on Twitter in 2017 and 2018 related to immigration and the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
A Clovis Unified School District student was also in hot water for posting racist messages on social media.
The student’s comments contained multiple racial slurs, including repeated use of the N-word and ended by suggesting white people should protest violence by “hunting and killing” Black people.
The district is pursuing consequences “to the fullest extent that the educational code” allows, Superintendent Eimear O’Farrell said.
The Education Lab is a local journalism initiative that highlights education issues critical to the advancement of the San Joaquin Valley. It is funded by donors. Learn about The Bee’s Education Lab on our website.
This story was originally published June 25, 2020 at 8:33 AM.