Elementary school staffer comes to work in blackface to protest vaccine mandate in Oregon
Lauren Pefferle is an Oregon special education assistant who wore blackface to dress as Rosa Parks at Mabel Rush Elementary School in Newberg in a protest against vaccine mandates. Pefferle was identified as the school employee by The Newberg Graphic. The school district has mandated the COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine for all staff members, with limited medical and religious exemptions, the newspaper reports.
“Last Friday, one of our employees reported for work in Blackface. The employee was removed from the location, and HR has placed the employee on administrative leave. The administration of Newberg Public Schools condemns all expressions of racism,” Newberg Public Schools said in a September 20, 2021, press release. “It is important to remember how Blackface has been used to misrepresent Black communities and do harm. We acknowledge the violence this represents and the trauma it evokes regardless of intention.”
The 41-year-old Pefferle staged her protest against vaccinations on September 17, 2021, the school district said. The district did not name Pefferle. Pefferle told another staff member, who was granted anonymity by the newspaper, that she intended to look like Rosa Parks during her protest against the vaccine mandate, comparing her protest to Parks’ protest against racial discrimination. The newspaper wrote that Pefferle “darkened her face with iodine.” No photos or videos of Pefferle in her Parks’ costume have emerged.
At a press conference, Gregg Koskela, told reporters no students witnessed the incident, according to The Oregonian. Koskela did not comment on the specific case, but said, “Our range of responses does include termination as an option for certain situations.”
Article and much more info on Lauren Pefferle at :
https://heavy.com/news/lauren-pefferle/
= new reply since forum marked as read
