North Carolina school board censures member for slur

CONCORD, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina school board censured one of its members on Monday for using a derogatory slur in describing a remote learning plan and not realizing her microphone was open.

During the Sept. 21 meeting of the Cabarrus County school board, board member Laura Blackwell was heard while off camera agreeing with an unidentified person on the call who said young children should not be kept in front of a computer, news outlets reported.

Blackwell used a word that has been used to demean people with intellectual or developmental disabilities. She apologized in a statement last week, calling her use of the slur “insensitive” and “unacceptable.”

Prior to the censure, a group of Cabarrus County Schools educators gathered outside the district’s administrative building for a rally calling for disciplinary action against Blackwell. In addition, a petition is circulating that calls for Blackwell's resignation.