Democratic Party of Georgia-Gwinnett County African American Caucus request response to allegations in official statement
(Gwinnett County, GA) June 4, 2019 — (Gwinnett County, GA) June 4, 2019 — The Democratic Party of Georgia-Gwinnett County African American Caucus (DPG-GAAC) today released a statement on concerns over the alleged comments made by Ben Satterfield and Alice O’ Lenick, two Republican members of the Gwinnett Board of Elections. The story was reported by the Atlanta Journal Constitution (AJC) in April. While Satterfied and O’ Lenick both stated to the AJC that they are not racists, neither denied the that the comments were made.
The article stated the alleged derogatory comments were made on social media in 2016 against Muslims in response to the 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris, and more recent social commentary about African Americans remaining in America post American slavery.
Maxine Wheatley, chairwoman for the DPG-GAAC released the following statement today on the matter:
“The Democratic Party of Georgia-Gwinnett African-American Caucus is greatly disturbed by recent news reports of alleged racist social media comments by two (2) members of the Gwinnett County Board of Elections (BOE). The Caucus is concerned whenever there are reports of alleged bigoted or racially insensitive comments by public officials, who are obligated to carry out their duties in a fair, equitable, non-discriminatory manner. These charges are particularly disturbing as the BOE is charged with finding the next elections supervisor for Gwinnett County, one of the most ethnically diverse counties in the country. Accordingly, the Caucus requests responses to these allegations from both Satterfield and O’Lenick.”
The Gwinnett African American Caucus was established in 2018 to address issues impacting African Americans in Gwinnett as well as educating and encouraging the public to be more civically engaged.
According to an April 17, 2019 article in the AJC, the allegations stem from a 2016 report from a group called Allied Progress. According to the report, alleged racist comments were attributed to Ben Satterfield and Alice O’ Lenick, the two Republican members of the BOE. In response to the 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris, France, Satterfield wrote, “Don’t you just love those Peace-Loving Muslims, let us open our borders for them!!!” O’Lenick is reported to have agreed with Satterfield’s comments, responding that Muslims, “who stand silent and do not condemn nor root out the evil are they themselves evil.”
The comments were presented to the BOE by the president of the Gwinnett NAACP at the Board’s April 16, 2019 meeting. During that meeting, the AJC reports that the NAACP president produced screenshots of another social media comment by O’Lenick; in which O’Lenick allegedly wrote, “after emancipation all black Americans were offered free transport, a home, livestock if they wanted to return to Africa . . . so there was no force to stay.”
When asked by the AJC, neither Satterfield nor O’Lenick denied the authenticity of the comments.
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About DPG-GAAC:
The Democratic Party of Georgia- Gwinnett County African American Caucus (DPG-GAAC) is a metro Atlanta caucus based in Gwinnett County; the second largest county in Georgia and one of the most ethnically diverse counties in the Southeast. The mission of GAAC is to encourage and promote involvement in the political process among African American Democrats in Gwinnett County. Through education, the GAAC works to empower African Americans to maintain a strong voice and representation within the political process both locally and nationally. Along with education, the DPG-GAAC works with the Democratic Party to ensure issues and policies impacting the African American community are understood and help guide appropriate public positions as it relates to such issues. Part of the DPG-GAAC mission is to identify, encourage and support political candidates for office in Gwinnett who are committed to the concerns of African Americans. For more information on the DPG-GAAC, please visit http://www.gwinnettaac.com.
Gwinnett African American Caucus 