Despite Request From Board, Pike Won't Resign From JeffCo BOE

BIRMINGHAM, AL - Despite a resolution by her fellow board members requesting her resignation, Jefferson County Board of Education member Donna Pike says she will not resign amidst criticism over some social media posts she made that have been construed as being racist.

Pike posted images in regard to Roseanne Barr and Valerie Jarrett, a controversial subject in recent times that led to Barr’s show being cancelled by ABC. The image posted by Pike is of Jarrett with the caption reading: “No! I’m not black! I’m Valerie Verrett (sic) and I’m a Muslim born in Iran!”

The posts have since been deleted.

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Pike made a brief statement to BirminghamWatch on Wednesday in which she said she has no intention of resigning, despite members — President Oscar Mann, Vice President Martha Bouyer and Ronnie Dixon — holding a called meeting Tuesday morning in which their only item of business was to pass a resolution calling for Pike to step down.

“This has certainly been a learning experience for me and my family,” Pike said. “I vow to continue with vigor serving the children of Jefferson County and the people who elected me.”

“Recent social media postings by Board member Donna Pike are divisive if not inflammatory, have garnered unflattering local, statewide, and national media attention and a negative public response, and have diverted time and attention from the District’s pressing education needs and challenges,” the resolution by the Board reads. “The postings in question are repugnant to the Board’s values and undermine public confidence in the Board’s willingness and ability to serve as a standard bearer for the cause of equal educational opportunity and to garner broad support for the Board’s mission."

Photo via Jefferson County Board of Education

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