School leader who posted meme about children picking cotton faces backlash in NC
A school leader shared a meme about kids picking cotton, sparking backlash in North Carolina.
Bill Nolte, superintendent of Haywood County Schools, apologized Saturday after posting the now-deleted controversial graphic on Facebook.
“I want to sincerely apologize to anyone who was offended by my repost of poor white children picking cotton that said picking cotton was not about race,” he wrote.
Nolte drew criticism for sharing the online post, which consisted of a black and white picture of kids holding bags that may have been filled with cotton, The Mountaineer reported. The caption read: “poor children of every color picked cotton, open a book and gain some knowledge,” according to the newspaper.
The superintendent said he posted the meme on his Facebook page after an ABC leader was accused of telling Robin Roberts to “pick cotton,” as HuffPost reported in June.
“I thought the executive’s comments were appalling,” Nolte wrote in his apology. “My repost was intended to point out that picking cotton was done by many white people including my family. Unfortunately, [my] attempt to address a racist comment has been interpreted as racist....
“Those of you who know me will remember my first college roommate was a dear high school friend who was black,” he continued. “I have spent a lot of my life trying to bring people together and hate that this well intended repost has added fuel to the fire.”
Some seemed to argue the post was inappropriate.
“You didn’t create the meme, but it was offensive,” a Facebook user wrote. “You didn’t even put it in the Robin Roberts context. Your apology didn’t acknowledge that you understood why people were offended. I have always had great respect for you, but I am unable to understand your need to post this meme.”
Kasey Steffen, whose children attend Haywood County Schools, also weighed in on the superintendent’s post, WLOS reported.
“[He said] that it wasn’t about race, it was about income,” Steffen told the TV station. “For all of those Black people who were out there, they got no income, they were forced to do that. He is the most powerful person in education in our county. So, I have a real problem that he doesn’t understand this.”
But several Facebook users defended the superintendent’s actions.
One person wrote: “No apology needed..people need to stop looking for something to be offended about.”
Haywood County is west of Asheville and home to the city of Waynesville.
This story was originally published July 13, 2020 at 4:00 PM with the headline "School leader who posted meme about children picking cotton faces backlash in NC."
