A photo was posted to social media of a group of Durham teachers reenacting the recent toppling of a Confederate statue which stood in front of the Durham, North Carolina Courthouse.
Eight arrests, mainly members of the communist World Workers Party, were made last week in connection with the destruction of the statue.
Three more arrests came this week. The new arrests include Jessica Nicole Jude, Joseph Baldoni Karlik and far left activist, Qasima Rohan Elise Wideman. The three were arrested Monday and released the same day.
Records show the trio facing charges of inciting a riot and property damage. Wideman was also arrested on May 10th in the vicinity of Poole Road on the charge of resisting a public officer.
The Durham Sheriff’s office has not yet responded for comment on these three arrests.
The photo of the Durham teachers was posted to Facebook and quickly spread across various social media platforms. The website Gateway Pundit picked up the story via the tweet below.
The school in question is a magnet school called The School for Creative Studies and is located in Durham.
The identities of the Durham teachers is unclear at this time as the school’s principal, Renee Price, has not responded to our request for comment on the photo.
Officials contacted in the Durham school district have not responded for comment either.
According to the Durham Herald Sun, William Sudderth, spokesman for the Durham Public Schools, stated in an email that, “I can confirm that this happened after school hours and was not part of a class.”
One of the Durham teachers at the school is LeVon Barnes, a candidate for Ward 2 in the upcoming Durham City Council race.
Parents and citizens in the district tell American Lens they planned to visit the school this morning in protest.
It was indicated via a social media post that the citizens involved wanted to be sure the school officials knew what these teachers had done and that “what they are showing our kids is unacceptable.”
Concerns were voiced that these Durham Teachers should be free to do things like this on their own time, but it was unacceptable behavior on public school property.
According to the protest organizer, the group would be making a request for an investigation to be done and possibly firings of those involved.
An update from the group about this morning’s planned meeting is still pending.
Update: ABC11 is reporting that Durham County Superintendent Bert L’Homme gave a statement which reads:
“The Durham Public Schools Board of Education and I strongly support the free speech rights of DPS employees, as reflected in the Board’s February 2016 resolution. The photo in question was taken August 23, after school hours, as part of the Durham Association of Educators’s weekly ‘Wear Red for Ed’ advocacy. The photo is not a reflection of official Durham Public Schools or The School for Creative Studies policies or positions.”
The ABC11 article did not credit American Lens with breaking the story.
This story is still developing. Check back for updates.
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