Community Groups Split On School Board Member's 'Skinhead' Rant

MAPLEWOOD, NJ - A pair of community groups in South Orange-Maplewood are at odds over the fallout of a school board member who went on a rant at police officers during a traffic stop last April.

The New Jersey State Department of Education School Ethics Commission ruled last month that South Orange Maplewood School District Board of Education member Stephanie Lawson-Muhammad's emotional, race-related meltdown during a traffic stop last April was a violation of their code of conduct.

In response to that ruling, the Executive committee of the Coalition on Race's Board of Trustees sent a letter to Governor Phil Murphy and questioned the NJ School Ethics commission findings and this action drew the ire of another community group, the SOMA Black Parents Workshop, prompting them to issue a written statement of their own.

The Commission found that Lawson-Muhammad violated both N.J.S.A.18A:12-24.1(e) and N.J.S.A.18A:12-24.1(f) in the code of conduct. The Commission noted Lawson-Muhammad's attempt to escalate the situation and that her public apology did and attempt to make amends with the officer and the Chief of Police did not come until after her actions became public as marks against her.

The penalty recommended is a six-month suspension from the school board.

During the April 27, 2018 incident, an emotional Lawson-Muhammad called the local police chief a "skinhead" after a South Orange officer pulled her over for allegedly speeding. She then apparently attempted to use her position on the board as leverage to get out of a ticket and told the officer that she is "scared of cops because you guys hurt black people."

You can watch dashcam footage from the incident below.

In response to this decision, the Coalition on Race's Board of Trustees sent the following letter to Murphy:

Dear Governor Murphy,

The South Orange/Maplewood Community Coalition on Race questions the NJ School Ethics Commission’s capacity to serve its constituency equitably. Appointed and elected commissions and boards have the power to make decisions that significantly affect the daily lives, opportunities, and future well-being of people, and as such should reflect the diverse experiences of those over whom they have such power. It is troubling to find decision-making bodies that are significantly more homogeneous than the communities they are entrusted to represent. We find that to be the case with the NJ School Ethics Commission.

A critical component of working toward true racial inclusion is being intentional about racial representation among those in leadership roles and serving on committees—especially those in positions of making decisions that affect entire communities. The profound lack of diversity and representation on the NJ School Ethics Commission—at a time when many are questioning the state’s commitment to integrated schools and communities, at a time when we need to be working jointly to counter the state’s status as one the most segregated in the nation—is particularly problematic.

There is a serious deficiency in the racial composition of this decision-making body: the NJ SEC is an appointed group of nine that currently includes only white men from municipalities that are mostly lacking in New Jersey’s racial diversity. We question the commission’s ability to give due consideration of the perspectives of people of color and women, and consequently to rule fairly and without bias in the case involving SOMSD BOE member Stephanie Lawson Muhammad. A significant amount of the Board's written opinion and deliberation on the recommended length of suspension focused on their board assessment of whether or not a black woman feared a police officer. As not a single member has the life experience of a woman or person of color, their systematic dismissiveness of those claims displays bias.

Moreover, the revelation, if accurate, that one of the commission was in law enforcement and was indicted for first-degree manslaughter after shooting a black man in the back in 2002 (the charge was later dismissed), betrays the commission’s extreme poor judgement in allowing that member to deliberate on this case. How is it possible not to have demanded his recusal in a case involving a black woman expressing fear about the police in the context of increased national and local dialogue about the disproportionate use of force on black persons? The commission’s decision to allow him to pass judgement in such a case only serves to deepen the conviction of many that those in positions of power do not have the best interests of people of color in mind.

We urge you, Governor Murphy, to review the membership of this appointed commission, along with others, so that we can in good faith work together toward what we hope is the mutual goal of building and sustaining integrated communities and schools throughout the state of New Jersey.

Sincerely,
Robert A. Marchman, Chair
Nancy Gagnier, Executive Director

That letter, posted to the Coalition's website, drew quick condemnation from Walter Fields, president of the SOMA Black Parents Workshop. Fields was the complainant in the proceeding against Lawson-Muhammad.

Fields said that the complaint was brought with no personal animosity against Lawson-Muhammad or pursued in a frivolous manner. He also has been consistent in his call for her resignation.

"At the time this incident became public I called for the resignation of Ms. Lawson-Muhammad from the South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education," Fields said. "Today, I call upon the Board of Education to follow its own policy and remove Ms. Lawson-Muhammad from her position. Board policy under Prohibited Acts under its Bylaws clearly states: 'No Board member shall use or attempt to use his or her official position to secure unwarranted privileges, advantages, or employment for him or herself, members of his or her immediate family, or other.'”

Fields not only decried the letter, but took issue with the progress of the Coalition since the group's inception.

His complete statement can be read below:

The Community Coalition on Race has proven its irrelevance in its request to Governor Phil Murphy to review the membership of the state School Ethics Commission in light of the commission’s finding that South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education member Stephanie Lawson-Muhammad violated the ethics code.

Rather than engage in serious work to dismantle and reform institutions of systemic discrimination, the Commission engages in ‘Mary Kay’ advocacy, attempting to conceal the worst excesses of racist behavior by sponsoring ‘conversations’ and events that preserve the status quo. What does an organization that has existed for 25 years have to show for its work, after receiving taxpayer support? We have two towns that have a racially segregated public school system with a racial achievement gap, one community that has been identified with a police department with the worse rate of use of force against Black civilians in the state, and its companion police department with a less than stellar record, and two communities that are now losing Black residents because they have become exhausted by the work required to have a decent quality of life in these two towns.

On this Easter weekend we must resurrect the truth for the Coalition on Race seeks to bury it in a tomb of lies. When Black youth were assaulted by the Maplewood police on July 5, 2016 the Coalition on Race co opted a program at South Orange Middle School in which young people sought to express their feelings on their mistreatment in the community. We would later learn that the chairman of the Coalition on Race reviewed the police video of the July 5, 2016 incident before it became public and remained silent. The chairman of the Coalition admitted so to me personally. The Coalition on Race has been more concerned with the imagery of inclusion than the reality of life for Black children in the two communities.

The Coalition on Race was silent when it was discovered that an ill-conceived lesson on the enslavement of Africans was allowed in our elementary schools. The Coalition on Race was silent when it was discovered through an audit that Black students had been disproportionately harmed by the inappropriate application of the attendance and credit recovery policies at Columbia High School under its former principal. The Coalition on Race has been silent on racial disparities in student discipline in Columbia High School. Did the Coalition on Race respond to Columbia High School students who held an assembly to express their concern over the racial climate in the school? Where was the Coalition on Race when a Black, female Columbia High School student was maligned by teachers for a historically accurate dance performance? Where was the concern of the Coalition on Race when a nationally distinguished, Hall of Fame, Black female high school track and field coach left the district after receiving little support from the Board of Education? Where was the Coalition on Race when it was revealed that a female Columbia High School teacher sexually assaulted five Black male students? Why didn’t we hear from the Coalition on Race when a Black child was put in a closet in an elementary school as punishment? Why haven’t we heard from the Coalition on Race on the lack of Black teachers in the South Orange-Maplewood School District?

Where are the letters from the Coalition on Race to the governor on these critical issues to building a truly inclusive community? They don’t exist because the Coalition is not concerned about eradicating racism. It is invested in window dressing.
Now, when an elected official has been rightfully determined to have violated the state ethics code, the Coalition resorts to a fishing expedition to seek a political favor. What the Coalition does not reveal is that Ms. Lawson-Muhammad has been the Board of Education liaison to the Coalition. This is classic quid pro quo. It is a clear conflict of interest. Why does the Board have a liaison to this organization? The Coalition now shamelessly uses ‘race’ to cover for the worse behavior of an elected official. The Coalition needs to study history because it is obviously ignorant to the real history of civil rights in America. We have examples of Black females who neither cowered or were fearful of the worse forms of racial terrorism in our nation’s history. Perhaps the entire Coalition Board needs to see the movie Best of Enemies to see the true powerful representation of courageous Black womanhood in America. What we viewed on the video of April 27, 2018 was not that.

So, is the Coalition on Race accusing the Trustees of the Village of South Orange as being complicit in some sort of racial conspiracy with the state School Ethics Commission? It was the Village Trustees that initially expressed concern to then South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education president Elizabeth Baker over Board Member Stephanie Lawson-Muhammad’s behavior on April 27, 2018. The same Board of Education that the School Ethics Commission chastised for not discussing the incident in a public meeting. Is this not the same municipal government that is providing funding to the Coalition?

The Coalition also reveals why history is such an important subject. An organization that has never taken a stand on the school district’s failure to implement the state-mandated Amistad Black History curriculum, reminds us why they have not done so. I remind the Commission that the late U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren who led the Court to a unanimous ruling in Brown v. Board of Education had prior to his tenure on the Court served as the Attorney General of California and signed the order committing Japanese-Americans to internment camps during World War II. The plaintiffs in Brown and their legal counsel, the N.A.A.C.P., did not demand the recusal of Warren from deliberations on the case. They trusted the process, believed in the law and were willing to stand on the truth and strength of their position. I would also remind the Coalition that the United States Supreme Court that rendered the historic ruling in Brown on May 17, 1954 was comprised of 9 white males with a Chief Justice who was a noted conservative.

The Coalition on Race now seeks to interject its voice on a matter as a political favor to an elected official. The Coalition is acting with the same lack of ethics and character that Ms. Lawson-Muhammad did on April 27, 2018. Its leadership should be ashamed and taxpayers appalled. As a 22-year resident of Maplewood I will write a letter to my township government demanding that not a penny of my taxes be used to support the Coalition on Race.

The Coalition's letter is similar to the position taken by Lawson-Muhammad in a statement to the Village Green, where she said she didn't feel the Commission could judge her.

"We are deeply disappointed with the decision issued by the Ethics Commission. Their action delegitimizes, disregards and belittles the very real and justified fear, anxiety, disorientation and even trauma that is nearly always experienced during even a routine traffic stop, particularly if that motorist is African American," she wrote. "The commission members were completely ill-suited to judge my fear and the real intentions of my words. They lacked corroborating evidence, expertise and, most especially, personal experience. I am in the process of considering my options.”

'HATRED DOESN'T GO AWAY WITH AN APOLOGY'

Several commenters on previous Patch articles about the traffic stop called the incident "racist" and said that Lawson-Muhammad should resign.
Seen online:

• "Her rant betrayed her obvious bias and bigotry (esp. calling the chief of police a "skin head"). Hatred like that doesn't go away with an apology. She should be gracious and leave."
• "The police officer showed great restraint and professionalism in dealing with this racist woman. Hopefully she will be removed from the school board."
• "Sorry, she should resign, period. Not only did she display outrageous racist behavior, but she exposed her child to it, signaling that it is OK to profile someone by race."

However, some people offered sympathetic comments as well:

• "The woman was wrong and she apologized. Unlike how the hard left reacts when the situation is reversed, I see no reason to ruin this woman's life. It was a traffic stop and she said something stupid. It's over now. Let her get back to her life."

RACE RELATIONS IN SOUTH ORANGE-MAPLEWOOD
The April 27 traffic stop is the latest in a series of recent race-related flare-ups in South Orange and Maplewood.

In March 2017 – the same week that a middle school in South Orange reported multiple incidents of racist graffiti in its bathroom – an elementary school in the district set off a firestorm of controversy when its fifth graders put mock advertisements for a "slave auction"on display inside the building.

In July 2016, emotions ran deep after police videos showed Maplewood officers using excessive force against a group of black youth after the township's Independence Day fireworks event. Several officers were disciplined as a result of the violence.

In 2014, civil rights groups including the ACLU of New Jersey filed a complaint with the federal Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights urging an investigation into the South Orange-Maplewood School District. The groups charged that the district's tracking and discipline practices "disproportionately confine students of color to lower-level classes and punish students of color and students with disabilities to a greater degree."

• See related article: South Orange-Maplewood Ponders $127M Plan To Integrate Schools

In May 2016, two Columbia High School students posted an Instagram photo of themselves in what appeared to be blackface makeup.
In June 2017, a student at Columbia High School in Maplewood raised the ire of some teachers when she choreographed a controversial dance about African-Americans' struggles with racism and police brutality.

• See related article: Maplewood 1st N.J. Town To Offer Immigrants 'Sanctuary' In 2017
• See related article: South Orange Offers Immigrants Sanctuary, Passes Resolution (PHOTOS)

This story contains reporting by Eric Keifer.
Photo/video courtesy of SOMA Black Parents Workshop
Photo 2 of Stephanie Lawson-Muhammad (Patch file image)

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