A sheriff’s deputy, who has been reassigned instead of being fired after photos emerged of her in blackface as Congresswoman Frederica Wilson, has sparked outrage in Virginia.
Jean Browning, of the York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office, will no longer serve as a school Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program officer after the deputy appeared in a Halloween costume wearing the Congresswoman’s signature red hat.
York-Poquoson Sheriff J.D. Diggs said in a statement on Facebook that Browning, who will now return to courtroom duty, has been a deputy for 20 years.
Diggs determined that reassigning her to a different position in the sheriff’s office was the best punishment instead of terminating Browning.
Virginia sheriff’s deputy, Jean Browning (left), has been reassigned after photos emerged of her in blackface as Congresswoman Frederica Wilson (right). Browning dressed up as Wilson for Halloween
Browning will no longer serve as a school Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program officer after she appeared in a Halloween costume wearing the Congresswoman’s signature red hat. Her boyfriend (right) also dressed up as President Donald Trump
He cited her nine letters of commendation and her ‘kind and caring’ reputation as reasons for not firing Browning. Diggs said Browning ‘has never been accused of any type of racial transgression’ since she’s been in her position.
But the York-James City-Williamsburg (YJCW) Branch of the NAACP said that ‘blackface in and of itself should be enough to warrant disciplinary action’.
‘For decades, blackface has been synonymous with hate, degradation, and bigotry. Originally, white actors wore tattered and worn clothing, applied burnt cork to blacken their skin, and used soot to create the appearance of wider, fuller lips to imitate the appearance of African-Americans,’ the YJCW branch of the NAACP said in a statement.
‘White performers profited from blackface by mocking black behavior and culture and promoting false stereotypes that African-Americans were lazy, destitute, and unintelligible,’ the statement continued.
Sheriff Diggs said he met with Brian J Smalls, the president of the YJCW branch of the NAACP, on November 6 to discuss what actions should be taken against Browning.
Diggs said he had to look at ‘the degree of seriousness of the alleged offense, the intent of person involved, the history of the person, our relationship with the community, the impact on the community as a whole, and the proper remedy to the situation’.
The York-James City-Williamsburg (YJCW) Branch of the NAACP said that ‘blackface in and of itself should be enough to warrant disciplinary action’. Browning is pictured with friends dressed as the Congresswoman
He claimed the Sheriff’s Office takes ‘race relations seriously’, but still decided against terminating Browning.
‘I have decided that it would be in the best interest for all concerned to reassign this deputy to another position within the Sheriff’s Office,’ he said in a statement.
‘She did not mock her [Wilson] or make any attempt to degrade her,’ Diggs said in the statement.
‘Deputy Browning’s intent was simply to portray Wilson as a political celebrity as Browning’s boyfriend was in a costume portraying Donald Trump. The combined intent of the couple was to convey the message of how funny it would be for two political figures that were at odds with each other to go to a party together,’ Diggs said.
But the incident in fact is not funny.
‘Although it was acknowledged that our concerns were legitimate, it was clear that there would be no disciplinary action taken against Deputy Browning by the sheriff’s department,’ the NAACP’s statement read.
Congresswoman Wilson (pictured in 2012) made headlines last month when she claimed that President Donald Trump told Gold Star widow, Myeshia Johnson, that her husband, Sgt La David Johnson knew ‘what he signed up for’ after he was killed in the line of duty
‘It was commented to [the chapter’s president] that had Deputy Browning been wearing a ‘noose’ or a derogatory sign, disciplinary action would be appropriate. However, it is the Branch’s position that blackface in and of itself should be enough to warrant disciplinary action.’
The NAACP’s statement went on to say that it’s ‘inappropriate and disheartening when anyone mocks someone’s race, but it is inexcusable when someone connected with our law enforcement finds it acceptable to paint their face to impersonate African-Americans’.
Congresswoman Wilson made headlines last month when she claimed that President Donald Trump told Gold Star widow, Myeshia Johnson, that her husband, Sgt La David Johnson knew ‘what he signed up for’.
Johnson was killed in the line of duty along with three other Green Berets in Niger on October 4.
Myeshia Johnson said that Trump ‘made her cry even worse’ during the call when Trump reportedly made the comment.
‘He couldn’t remember my husband’s name,’ Myeshia Johnson said on ABC’s Good Morning America program on October 23.
Trump responded with insulting tweets, calling Wilson ‘wacky’ and accusing her of secretly listening.