Four people came forward at the most recent Indian River County School Board meeting to criticize Board Member Dale Simchick for what they called racist and divisive posts on her Facebook page.
“It is horrific that Ms. Simchick would go on Facebook and post a parody on Black Lives Matter, a spoof that compares us to dogs,” NAACP President Anthony Brown said.
The meme on Simchick’s page showed a black lab with a handwritten sign hanging on its neck that says, “Black labs matter.” An adjacent photo shows a yellow lab with a similar sign that says, “All labs matter.”
“I don’t know if she can be censored, but we want it to be known it will not be tolerated. Not on the School Board,” Brown said.
The School Board has devoted $209,000 in legal fees so far preparing to file to get out from under a federal desegregation order in place since 1965. In 1994 the order was amended, requiring the district to negotiate with the NAACP.
Posts that “promote a divided nation should not be shared on public spaces by an elected official,” said Jacqueline Warrior, a member of the NAACP education committee.
Simchick responded that being an elected official did not take away her right to express personal opinions, but she has since removed the offending posts from her Facebook page.
