Virginia PTA official resigns after ‘let them die’ comments



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A senior Virginia Parent Teacher Association (PTA) official resigned after being filmed saying, “Let them die” in reference to a group of people protesting the teaching of critical race theory.

“Today the Virginia PTA Executive Committee requested and received the resignation of Michelle Leete, who was vice president of training,” the Virginia PTA mentionned in a statement posted on Twitter on Saturday. “Although she does not speak in her role with the Virginia PTA, we do not tolerate the choice of words used at a public event on Thursday, July 15, 2021.”

A video posted Twitter on Thursday shows Leete speaking to a group of people outside a college where a Fairfax County School Board meeting was being held, CNN reported.

According to the Washington Post, the school board was set to hold a vote on updated guidelines regarding what facilities transgender students can use in schools and how school staff can respond to them.

“So let’s meet and stay committed to telling the truth, eliminating double standards and refuting double talk,” Leete said in the video. “Let’s not allow the lies to be doubled. Let’s prepare our children for a world they deserve.

“Deny this quirky bunch of people who are anti-education, anti-teacher, anti-fairness, anti-history, anti-racial, anti-opportunity, anti-aid, anti-diversity, anti-platform, anti-science, agent anti-change, anti-social justice, anti-healthcare, anti-worker, anti-LGBTQ +, anti-child, anti-healthcare, anti-worker, anti-environment, anti-admissions policy change, anti- inclusion, anti-live and let live. Let them die, “she continued.

Critical Race Theory examines the role that systemic racism plays in American history. It has become a lightning rod problem for the Conservatives. According to CNN, more than 20 states have either introduced bills banning its teaching in schools or banning it altogether.

Leete, who is also the first vice president of the Fairfax County NAACP, told the Washington Post in a statement Friday that her “Let Them Die” comment was meant only to refer to “ideals that show contempt and a lack of support for our teachers who have a really difficult job to do even without a pandemic. “

“I will certainly admit that was said ineloquent and with a pause for the applause, the timing was off,” she said.

She also gave the newspaper a copy of her speech which read, “Let them (ideals) die” and included a subsequent paragraph that said “at will – referring to ideals that would have schools open during a pandemic, guns in schools, not accompany teachers. . . Etc. The Post noted.

“We strongly support our 1st Vice President and her work in the past, present and future, and we are extremely disappointed that her long track record of tireless work and dedication within the Fairfax County community has been so easily ignored and devalued, ”the Fairfax County NAACP said in a statement.

The NAACP chapter said its message was “to prepare our children for a better world by denying space to rhetoric, ideas or narratives that threaten the world we want to leave to our next generation.”

“It’s very clear when you consider the entirety of his speech, instead of just the last few seconds,” the NAACP chapter added.

La Colline has contacted Leete for further comment.



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