Lawrence County School Board member Shanon Terry, also the chairman of the Lawrence County GOP, released a statement Thursday morning pushing back against calls for his resignation for what he had called a "mistake."
Earlier this week, Terry posted an image created by Mother Jones magazine that displayed a Republican elephant with Ku Klux Klan imagery.
The image was part of a post on Facebook thanking former Lawrence County Republican Party chairman Daniel Stover for his tenure as chair.
Terry apologized for the image and said it was selected as a mistake.
The story has since garnered national attention. Wednesday, the NAACP called for Terry's resignation despite his apology.
Statement as follows:
I will not be resigning from my elected office on the Lawrence County School Board. The voters of District Four elected me to represent them and I am proud of the accomplishments of this administration over the past six years. I look forward to continuing to strive to give every student in Lawrence County the best opportunity to be successful.
I regret the mistake that was made, and it was just that- an unintended mistake. The image posted by me on a political Facebook page was not done with any malicious or harmful intent. Once made aware of the negative portion of the picture I immediately replaced it and followed up with an apology/explanation the next day. My error was rushing to post a thank you note to the outgoing chairperson, in doing so I did not properly review a cut and paste image used in that post from an internet search for a “GOP elephant”. I do not support or agree with any hate group agenda and certainly would not try to further their cause.
I strive to be an open and honest person who works to be a positive influence in my community. I feel I am being incorrectly portrayed by some over this unfortunate issue. I have apologized, taken responsibility for the post, corrected the image, and posted an explanation. I know that these actions to address this regretful error may not satisfy everyone, but I believe they demonstrate the sincerity of my feelings on this matter.
To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email jeff.poor@1819News.com.
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