South Jersey councilman-elect under fire for controversial Facebook photo

PITMAN – Just days after winning a Borough Council seat, political newcomer Vincent Kelly is having to explain an old social media photograph showing him at a Halloween party dressed as a Black entertainer and wearing dark makeup on his hands and face.

The picture was shared Thursday in an email from the group Pitman Anti-Racist Collective, which previously has targeted the official borough seal as offensive. A link to the photograph on Kelly's Facebook page was part of an email from group member Judy Walker.

The group called Kelly's costume blackface. Kelly denies that characterization.

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Kelly said the picture was taken in 2008, shared to Facebook in 2015, and that he was unaware it still was on his page. The costume was purchased as a complete package from an area store, and he vehemently disputes any characterization of the makeup as blackface, he said.

Kelly said the event was a theme party, with people asked to come as an "odd couple, Hollywood people.” His wife, who is in the picture, dressed as Peg Bundy from the show "Married ... With Children." Kelly, wearing an oversized clock around his neck and a horned helmet, is dressed as rapper and reality TV star Flavor Flav. His face and hands appear darkened.

“Let me tell you something: My great-grandson and my great-granddaughter are mixed race,” Kelly said, adding, “I’ve not a racist bone in my body.

“I didn’t put blackface on,” Kelly said. “I went to a costume party. And it came … with it. This is what you got with it. That’s what I did. There was no intention to do blackface, or to belittle African Americans, or anything like that. It was a simple Halloween party.”

In the PARC email, the group demands Kelly publicly apologize and “undertake Diversity, Equity and Inclusion training.”

“In the absence of apology and accountability, PARC calls upon Kelly to step down,” Walker states, who accuses Kelly of being an “open racist.”

Kelly said that the election, in which he and his running mate ousted the council president and a councilwoman, came as a surprise to supporters of the incumbents. The use of the photo is for partisan payback and will not move him to step away from public office, he said.

“They lost the election, and they‘re looking for every single thing to try to get back,” Kelly said. “They don’t realize the mayor gets to, if I do resign, he gets to appoint someone else.”

“It was shared with us by someone in the community on Tuesday night,” Walker said when asked Thursday how long PARC had had the photo. “We verified it, and put the statement out this evening.”

Asked about the group’s political interests, Walker replied, “Pitman is a small town. PARC steering committee members are Democrats. Some members also know Republican candidates. Our group has never endorsed any candidate.

"The issue is a local leader who apparently sees nothing wrong with appearing in blackface," she said. "We think this is newsworthy.”

Kelly and his wife said that their home for years was a refuge for children caught in bad domestic situations. Those children were Black, Hispanic, and white, they said.

“My daughter, when she was young, used to bring kids from problem homes,” he said. “They just lived here for a year or two, a couple months, until they, parents or whatever, got their stuff together.”

Kelly said the fostering was entirely voluntary, with his family picking up costs out of pocket.

“We haven’t done it in years,” Kelly said. “My kids are all grown. And thankfully, all the ones that were here (are) grown and are productive. Have good families right now. Have their own families.

“I believe in Martin Luther King Jr., what he said,” Kelly said. “A person should be judged by their character, not the color of their skin. Integrity.”

According to its website, the Pitman Ant-Racist Collective was formed in May 2020 "to provide a network for community members to explore racism and white supremacy."

"By creating a space for outreach and accountability in Pitman and surrounding communities of Southern New Jersey, we strive to identify and address systemic issues of racial injustice," the website states.

Subcommittees are focused on areas defined as police accountability; educational accountability, outreach, and culture shift. The group specifically solicits information related to racism for publication.

PARC claims the borough seal "has been criticized for not being inclusive to non-Christians, the secular community, LGBTQ, nontraditional households, and persons of color. In the last several years, talk of changing the town seal has grown louder. In some circles, it’s risen to a deafening pitch."

The same article described Pitman as "amongst the least diverse towns in NJ."

"In a recent town survey about diversity; although not specifically asked, several town residents reported disappointment on a lack of representation in the town seal," the article states.

One posting on the PARC site is a "people's history" blog about Pitman. The title is a "tribute" to the late left-wing historian Howard Zinn, known for his "A People's History of the United States."

"We will present stories not just about our community’s racist past but also about the everyday heroes in our community who helped to combat racism, particularly during the years prior to and after the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964," the blog states.

The blog also states it examines the roles "religion and the Women’s Christian Temperance Union played in the promotion of racist ideas and the ways in which some of those same churches later helped to combat racism in our community."

The borough was organized in the early 1870s as a Methodist retreat, and that denomination still has a strong presence. The borough, about 2.26 square miles in size, is notable for the number and diversity of its churches for a population of about 9,000.

Joe Smith is a N.E. Philly native transplanted to South Jersey more than 30 years ago, keeping an eye now on government in South Jersey. He is a former editor and current senior staff writer for The Daily Journal in Vineland, Courier-Post in Cherry Hill, and the Burlington County Times.

Have a tip? Reach out at jsmith@thedailyjournal.com or follow me on Twitter, @jpsmith-dj. Help support local journalism with a subscription.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Group blasts Pitman councilman-elect Kelly over Flavor Flav costume