Marshall County Board of Education member Lori Kestner explained today she was asking a serious question on social media concerning Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris and her heritage.
Kestner made the inquiry over the weekend in a thread about Harris on the Facebook page managed by WTRF TV7, and the elected official was surprised when criticism over the question was levied by other on social media and by Marshall County BOE President John Miller.
“When I research the Vice President-Elect, I found her history interesting,” Kestner said. “But during the campaign I don’t think her heritage was made very clear, so that is why I asked.
“I have a black grandson, and I love Hassan very much,” she said. “But asking that question somehow makes me a racist? I don’t care what color anyone is, and I never have. People who know me know that to be true for sure.”
Internet Research
The question Kestner asked on the thread was:
Has she decided to if she is African-American, Indian, or Jamaican??
“After I had done some research on her, and I saw the thread on the WTRF page, I started reading it to see if her heritage was mentioned, and when it wasn’t, I asked about it,” Kestner explained. “I wanted to know because I had heard all three over the last year or so, and that is why I asked.
“If, for some reason, someone had a negative opinion about me asking it, they have every right to be critical,” the BOE member said. “But I am also free to explain myself, and there was no evil intent on my part by asking a question about heritage.”
Marshall County Schools does not support or tolerate any insensitive racial or ethnic statements by employees. Ms. Kestner’s social media post does not reflect the thoughts of the Board of Education of Marshall County Schools.
“People have asked me when I meet them about my heritage. They ask me if I am English, Irish, or Indian,” Kestner said. “I tell them that I am kind of all of them because of my parents and where they came from when they were born. That’s why there is nothing wrong with the question that I asked about Vice President-Elect Harris.
“I asked a question, and some people on that thread answered me,” she continued. “I have always been careful when I am on social media, and I felt I was when I asked that question. I was curious and thought someone would know. I don’t feel I have done anything wrong, and I don’t think people will think I am a racist. Why am I a racist for asking about someone’s origins? This has really surprised me.”
