GROVEPORT, Ohio — A Groveport Madison Board of Education member is under scrutiny as he is accused of posting racist comments on a community Facebook page.
At the start of Wednesday's board meeting, tensions were running high and there was a divide between some board members — some of it fueled by those controversial comments.
Nana Watson, the president of the Columbus branch of the NAACP, showed up at Wednesday night’s school board meeting demanding action.
“I am here to express our outrage at the blatant racism that exists on this board,” Watson said.
Watson referred to comments made by school board member John Kershner, who posted comments on the district’s public Facebook page last week. Some of which have since been deleted.
Screenshots of Facebook posts show when he brought up a lack of diversity in the district in a post.
In one of the posts, a community member commented, “Looks pretty diverse.” To which he responded, “Yes! You nailed it, as long as diversity is one color, we are rocking it.”
During public comment, another parent referenced the remark.
“I realize Mr. Kershner that my children do not fit your definition of diversity as you so offensively commented on Facebook,” the parent said.
In another post, he compared two fellow school board members fighting with each other. Watson said this is unacceptable and action should be taken.
“Board member Kershner, it is unacceptable for you to post a photo on Facebook comparing a Black woman and white woman in boxing woman about three women accused of running an elder fight club,” she said.
Nana emphasized that the comment was inappropriate and perpetrated harmful racial stereotypes. Following her comments, Kershner responded during the board meeting.
“I couldn’t thank you more for making my point,” he said.
School board president Latoya Dowdell-Burger said she appreciated Watson’s remarks.
“I’m grateful that they see what’s happening here,” Dowdell-Burger said.
As far as the comments made by Kershner, she said it does not represent the board as a whole.
“It’s disheartening to see..these are the very people we’re here to serve,” Dowdell-Burger said.
Now, Watson is calling for an apology from the board and says more racial diversity and inclusion training is needed. She added the community needs to start paying attention.
“Do they know what’s happening in their district? Have they read the Facebook pages? And if they have not, you need to,” she said.
When the board meeting ended, Kershner said he believed the district was not doing a good job of being diverse in the schools.
"For some people, diversity is a one-way street. If a white man speaks up about not seeing the diversity that he thinks he should [and] that would be demonstrable in the school, then he's a racist. That proved my point," he said.