We learned early this evening that the City Councilman behind the effort to remove the Robert E. Lee memorial in Charlottesville has resigned from his position as a teacher at Albermarle High School!!
This follows community outrage after a Charlottesville author exposed numerous vulgar tweets on Bellamy's "Vice-Mayor" twitter account containing sexist, racist, homophobic and misogynistic comments, and comes just weeks after Virginia Governor McAuliffe forced Bellamy to resign from the State Board of Education last month, after McAuliffe commented that he was "horrified by the content" of the tweets.
Bellamy was placed on administrative leave by the Albermarle County School Board shortly after the vile tweets surfaced, and his resignation comes after outrage from parents and the community, and in spite of efforts by the Albermarle-Charlottesville NAACP to influence the school board's decision. In a letter sent to the Albermarle County School Board earlier this month, NAACP President Rick Turner urged Bellamy be taken off administrative leave and returned to the classroom.
In contrast to swift action by the Governor and the Albermarle School Board, Charlottesville City Council members have refused to ask for his resignation from City Council, expressed their devotion to Bellamy, and vowed to stand behind him. At a City Council meeting earlier this month, Charlottesville councilmen, instead of condemning Bellamy and calling out his openly racist, homophobic and sexist comments and behavior, chose to instead launch vicious personal attacks against the man who exposed the tweets, as well as anyone who dared to speak out and call for his resignation.
As we reported last week, City Councilmen will meet in January to discuss the recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Memorials and Race, a commission that was formed solely based on the prejudicial demands of Wes Bellamy and Kristen Szakos to tear down the Robert E Lee monument and rename LEE Park. Based on the revelation of the true character of Mr. Bellamy, and the obvious racist intentions behind the entire stunt, the logical next step would be to abandon any and all discussion of monument removal or alteration. Since City Council has made it clear that they intend to move forward instead of stepping back, removing Bellamy from office by recall is the next logical step, and would serve as a strong statement to others who may be tempted to make similar attempts, across the Commonwealth and beyond.
An official petition to recall Bellamy has been drafted and signatures are being gathered from Charlottesville voters. For more info about how you can sign the petition or help with this effort, contact Jason Kessler: http://www.jasonkessler.net/blog/sign-the-official-petition-for-recalling-wes-bellamy-from-office
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