Cobb School Board Passes Resolution Against Antisemitism And Racism, But Some Vote No

COBB COUNTY, GA — A month after antisemitic graffiti was discovered in two different East Cobb high school bathrooms, the Cobb County School District Board of Education passed a resolution last week condemning antisemitism and racism — but two of the three Black members, also two of the three Democrats, voted against its passage.

Democrats Dr. Jaha Howard and Leroy "Tre" Hutchins voted against the resolution, while the third Democrat, Charisse Davis, was absent from the meeting. Howard and Hutchins attempted to add amendments to the resolution during the board's afternoon work session, but the other four members — all white Republicans — overruled their requests.

Both members said they couldn't support the resolution because they didn't get enough time to review it and make suggestions.

"I know you and members of the community worked on this for over a month, but the rest of us got this two and a half days ago," Howard said to Randy Scamihorn, the board chair. "That's not any time to digest and put changes into something this important."

Swastikas and messages saying "Hail Hitler" or "Heil Hitler" were found in Pope and Lassiter high school bathrooms in mid-September, prompting public outrage and calls for the board to specifically denounce antisemitism, particularly from local Jewish leaders and grassroots Atlanta group Atlanta Initiative Against Antisemitism (AIAAS).

Dozens of protesters showed up to the Sept. 23 board meeting, in which Superintendent Chris Ragsdale announced the students accused of vandalizing the bathrooms had been charged accordingly. Board Chair Randy Scamihorn also said the board was working on an antisemitism resolution at that meeting.

However, Hutchins said nothing was mentioned about a renewed attempt to denounce racism, too.

Howard asked to add a line to the resolution reading "The Cobb County School District and Board of Education humbly regret the current school names that honor Confederate military leaders and will move with all deliberate speed to rename them in an appropriate way that reflects the goal of inclusion."

Only he and Hutchins voted in favor of this change.

Hutchins also tried to introduce another amendment that would have removed mentions of racism, but the resolution passed before he could make the suggestion.

“To add something else to it and not give it what it needed, it just wasn’t good,” Hutchins said, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It wasn’t proper.”

Larry Sernovitz, a rabbi at Temple Kol Emeth in Marietta, worked with Scamihorn on the resolution. While he told the AJC he's happy the resolution passed, he wasn't happy about the racism addition.

“We’re happy the resolution passed, but not in the way it did,” Sernovitz said. “If you’re going to throw in racism then talk about racism. Talk about Wheeler High School,” he said, referencing the school named for Joseph Wheeler, a Confederate general.

Holocaust survivor Hershel Greenblat also asked the school board to reinstate the Anti-Defamation League's "No Place for Hate" curriculum, which the district decided to discontinue after the last school year. The Anti-Defamation League's Southeast chapter said on Twitter that it couldn't support the resolution as an adequate response without a specific plan to combat antisemitism.

"The @CobbSchools Board of Education's resolution in response to recent antisemitic incidents is a good first step, but unless followed by specific actions, it's an empty gesture," the organization said in a Twitter thread. "Hate in all forms must be responded to with action and education, not empty value statements."

SEE ALSO:

• Swastikas Found Inside Pope High School Bathroom
• Swastikas, 'Heil Hitler' Found In Lassiter High School Bathrooms
• Activist Group Calls On Cobb School Board To Condemn Antisemitism
• Sen. Ossoff Condemns Antisemitic Graffiti In Yom Kippur Address
  
• Students Accused Of Antisemitic Graffiti Face Disciplinary Action