PUNISHMENT OVER SOCIAL MEDIA RAISES QUESTION OF FAIRNESS
The suspension of a popular Oak Park and River Forest teacher over a student’s racist post missed one point and proved another.
After a protest and a petition campaign, Anthony Clark will be reinstated Thursday. But the district’s handling of this issue shows the difficulty employers face when it comes to what constitutes inappropriate social media conduct.
Last week, a white 17- year- old senior at the school posted to Snapchat a photo of himself in blackface with a caption claiming he was running for president of the school’s Black Leaders Union.
Apparently, the student’s post lived long enough to be screenshot and was shared numerous times.
Clark, a special ed teacher and community activist and one of the leaders of Suburban Unity Alliance, decided to use the post as a teaching tool and posted the offensive photo on the group’s Facebook page.
The organization was created in 2016 to “showcase diversity” of suburban communities, “raise discrimination awareness” and bring communities together, according to its website.
Clark, who is trying to unseat U. S. Rep. Danny L. Davis in the 7th District, found himself in the middle of a firestorm.
“He was looking to bring people together and saying, ‘ This is something horrible, but how can we work to educate this young man and to make sure this doesn’t happen again,’” said Cheree Moore, a longtime Oak Park resident and member of Suburban Unity Alliance.
Clark quickly scheduled a meeting between the student photographed in blackface and members of the Black Student Union in an effort to start a dialogue on race.
Unfortunately, his efforts backfired.
Because he posted the photo, Clark was placed on paid leave for possibly violating the school district’s “social media policies.”
I reached out to Clark, but he is unable to comment during the district’s investigation of the incident. The student was suspended. On Saturday, about 50 of Clark’s supporters marched outside the Oak Park public library to protest the district’s actions against the teacher.
Additionally, more than 5,000 people signed a Change. org petition calling for Clark to be reinstated immediately.
A statement read by the president of the Board of Education at a meeting Tuesday night said Clark had not been suspended.
Obviously, a high school senior in a community as diverse as Oak Park knew posting a selfie in blackface was going to stir up fierce emotions.
That issue should have been addressed immediately given that the school has been plagued by a number of race- related issues in recent years, including a wide achievement gap and racial disparities in disciplinary actions.
Clark’s dilemma also highlights the difficulty employers have sorting out what constitutes inappropriate social media conduct.
Clark apparently deleted the blackface post when he learned the student attended Oak Park River Forest.
But if Clark is suspended for posting on a photograph that is a blatant example of racism, it could have a chilling effect.
Indeed, that’s the troubling aspectas of ESPN’s suspension of JemeleJe Hill.
The sports anchor was suspendedpe for two weeks for a tweet thatth encouraged fans to boycott theth Dallas Cowboys’ advertisers afteraf team owner Jerry Jones told playerspl they would be benched if they didn’t stand during the national anthem.
ShaRhonda Dawson, also a member of Suburban Alliance Unity, called it “workplace racism.”
“I think it is a way of silencing people for doing the right thing and the hard work,” Dawson said, pointing out how the entire NFL has shunned Colin Kaepernick since his 2016 “take a knee” protest.
A free- agent quarterback, Kaepernick has filed a grievance against NFL owners for collusion.
“That’s your livelihood and survival. It affects that person and sets an example for other people not to speak up,” she said.
CLARK’S DILEMMA HIGHLIGHTS THE DIFFICULTY EMPLOYERS HAVE SORTING OUT WHAT CONSTITUTES INAPPROPRIATE SOCIAL MEDIA CONDUCT.