LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Ricky Jones, a University of Louisville professor honored Tuesday as a member of the Jefferson County Public Schools Equity Hall of Fame, used his speech to label a group of Kentucky legislators "white supremacists" for their recent rebuke of the school district's Chief Equity Officer, John Marshall.
Marshall has been under fire after he made a social media post on X last week addressing students, saying in part: "... THE MAJORITY of whites could care less about you & have no issues harming you."
The post drew reaction from 14 Louisville-area Republicans serving in or recently elected to the Kentucky General Assembly who called on Marshall to resign or be fired. A JCPS spokesperson said Marshall's remarks were "not made on behalf of his employer."
Speaking Tuesday morning at JCPS headquarters, Jones told those gathered for a Hall of Fame banner ceremony that the "greatest threat you face right now is white supremacy, which is in disguise as the anti-DEI movement in this state. That's what it is. So when you see people attack our dear brother, John Marshall, like last week, you understand what they're doing."
Diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, initiatives have been in the crosshairs of state legislatures across the U.S. in recent years. In Kentucky, versions of a GOP-sponsored bill passed the Senate and House of Representatives this year but died before both chambers could reach agreement. The bill would have restricted how public universities in Kentucky use DEI in decision-making, removed race-based scholarships and banned the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education from approving degrees that required courses containing "discriminatory concepts."
During his remarks Tuesday, Jones read the names of 13 lawmakers and legislators-elect who signed the open letter criticizing Marshall.
"These are white supremacists," he said. "And when I talk about white supremacists, I'm talking about people who feel that, because of their race, they are the only ones who have the right to think, know and decide, to think about what the problems are, to know what the proper solutions are and to decide what is going to be done. ...
"These legislators and others will return to attack you and your children with anti-DEI legislation — which is really the maintenance of white supremacy legislation in this state at this time in the 21st century. You better fight back. You better be just as mean as they are. You better not negotiate with them in the same way they refuse to negotiate with you. You better be brave enough for your children's sake, to call their names. ..."
Kentucky Senate GOP leadership immediately declined to comment Tuesday. House leadership and UofL officials have not yet responded.
Besides Jones, former Louisville Urban League president and CEO Sadiqa Reynolds referenced the lawmakers' response to Marshall's post.
"I do think it is worth noting that we have Kentucky Senate members who would call out Dr. Marshall and call for his resignation," said Reynolds, one of the new Hall of Fame members. "I do think it is worth noting that where they don't necessary align on everything else, they certainly do align when it comes to attacking us and attacking our people — and I think that we are only at the beginning of that. And I can only reiterate what Dr. Jones has said in that we will have to stand and fight."
Dr. F. Bruce Williams, who also spoke Tuesday as a member of the Hall of Fame class, thanked Marshall for his "courageous leadership."
"I know you're under attack," Williams said. "But that just means you must doing something right. And we want you to know that they may be focusing on you, but they have a whole lot of other people they have to deal with as well. So you're not by yourself."
Marshall's post was made from his personal X account, which has since been hidden from public view. A JCPS spokesperson said last week that Marshall's post "was not made on behalf of his employer" and said Tuesday that "those are Ricky Jones' personal comments." Superintendent Marty Pollio wasn't available for comment Tuesday.
Seven people were inducted into the first JCPS Equity Hall of Fame. Nov. 19. 2024. (WDRB Photo)
The letter was signed by:
- Rep. Jared Bauman, R-Louisville
- Rep. Kevin Bratcher, R-Louisville
- Rep. Emily Callaway, R-Louisville
- Rep. Ken Fleming, R-Louisville
- Rep. John Hodgson, R-Fisherville
- Rep. Jason Nemes, R-Middletown
- Rep. Susan Tyler Witten, R-Louisville
- Rep.-Elect Chris Lewis, R-Louisville
- Sen. Julie Raque-Adams, R-Louisville
- Sen. Lindsey Tichenor, R-Smithfield
- Sen. Matt Deneen, R-Elizabethtown
- Sen. Mike Nemes, R-Shepherdsville
- Sen. Adrienne Southworth, R-Lawrenceburg
- Sen.-Elect Aaron Reed, R-Shelbyville
"This is an outrageously inflammatory public statement for anyone in a civilized society to make, but such speech is protected by the First Amendment—for a private citizen," their letter of November 13 said. "... such reckless speech inciting hatred based on skin color should be grounds for immediate termination. In the current heated political climate of America, it is absolutely unacceptable for a senior JCPS leader to stoke the fires of hatred and division... If Dr. Marshall does not tender his resignation immediately, we, the undersigned, call upon the JCPS Board and/or Superintendent to terminate his employment."
Speaking after receiving his recognition Tuesday — with JCPS leadership, including Pollio, in the room — Jones didn't hold back on what he believes is being done to Marshall and, to a larger point, Black children in Kentucky.
"They are trying to destroy Black children's possibilities," he said. "That's what it's really about."
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