BATAVIA, Ohio — A Clermont County man is getting some warmth for a social media publish he made on Feb. 8 evaluating a lawsuit to lynching.
Christopher Hicks, a member of the Clermont County Republican Central Committee, posted on Fb a picture of a person being lynched alongside the case variety of his lawsuit in opposition to the committee for sanctions in opposition to him.
“The publish has to do with what I actually suppose is abhorrent, is mob justice, and so the imagery I used on there of a lynching was associated to mob justice,” Hicks mentioned.
Posted to social media
Hicks mentioned he’s a goal for attempting to weed out corruption in his occasion and is suing the Clermont County Republican Central Committee.
The Cincinnati NAACP despatched a letter to the committee on Feb. 15, calling on them to denounce Hicks.
Clermont County Government Celebration Chairman David Painter responded to the NAACP the subsequent day, saying in an announcement, “the Clermont County Republican Central Committee condemns this conduct and unequivocally denounces the actions of Mr. Hicks.”
Painter mentioned Hicks is beneath sanctions for actions unbecoming of a committee member. Painter mentioned there isn’t any justification an individual could make evaluating the remedy they obtained to the distress endured by African Individuals for tons of of years.
“It’s completely offensive and completely despicable,” mentioned David Whitehead, third vp of the Cincinnati NAACP.
Whitehead mentioned he was shocked when he noticed the social media publish.
“It’s laborious to imagine that somebody is a lynching motion and equating a squabble that they had with somebody to a lynching,” he mentioned.
Hicks mentioned he doesn’t suppose there may be something flawed with utilizing that picture together with his publish.
“I believe that imagery that stirs emotion in protection of stopping injustice is all the time acceptable, and I might suppose the NAACP would significantly get that,” Hicks mentioned. “I all the time would characterize mob justice … as a type of lynching. Clearly, precise actual lynching is past what I’ve been handled, what I’ve needed to cope with.”
Whitehead mentioned the publish is tone-deaf.
“Have a look at the definition of lynching. Lynching was a public killing of people who haven’t obtained any due course of,” Whitehead mentioned.
“There isn’t any approach by which somebody ought to have a graphic with the traumatizing picture for some private achieve,” he mentioned. “To have that comparability serves to reduce the severity of previous atrocities. It mustn’t have occurred. It must be denounced.”
Painter mentioned in an announcement, “This racist conduct additional justifies the present sanctions enacted by the Clermont County Republican Central Committee and requests for him to resign from his elected place.”
Throughout an interview with WCPO 9, Hicks apologized if the picture offended or upset anybody, however he mentioned he received’t take it down.
“I’ve no regrets about posting the imagery,” Hicks mentioned. “I’m glad to make use of that picture as a result of it’s nicely throughout the custom of America to make use of imagery that stirs emotion as a approach to attract consideration to problems with injustice.”
Whitehead mentioned that is an instance of why educating Black historical past is essential.
“Hopefully, by training, he corrects his actions sooner or later. To see nothing flawed with this, that is in all probability a much bigger drawback,” he mentioned.
Whitehead mentioned this publish marginalizes the affect that lynching had on Black residents.
Painter mentioned Hicks doesn’t take part in committee actions apart from these outlined by the Ohio Revised Code. He said in his letter to the Cincinnati NAACP, Hicks is “engaged in litigation to regain his Central Committee rights and advantages at conferences and occasions.”
Painter mentioned the committee can have a particular assembly on Feb. 21, the place they are going to speak about Hick’s publish and later vote on whether or not or to not sanction Hicks.
