Wilkes-Barre NAACP calls for new Crestwood School Board member's resignation
Jan. 2—The Wilkes-Barre branch of the NAACP has issued a statement "to the members of the Crestwood School District Board of Education" calling for newly appointed member Robert Derwin to resign because of posts he has made on Facebook that are critical of Vice President Kamala Harris.
The statement from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is signed by branch president Bill Browne "on behalf of the Executive Board" of NAACP No. 2306. The full statement was also posted on the branch's Facebook Page, facebook.com/DiamondCityNAACP.
The statement calls the appointment of Derwin "troubling for many reasons," and specifically cites social media posts "denigrating the Vice President of the United States identifying her as a 'whore'. "
"He also expressed a critique of the Vice President's appearance as an unflattering portrayal of African American women," and asked "Is this someone who should be a role model to our children?"
The statement calls some of Derwin's posts "racism, sexism and disrespect," and "demonization of a woman who became a district attorney, senator and now vice president."
With a multi-ethnic background, Harris has been deemed the first Black person, first Asian person and first woman to be elected vice president.
In a phone interview Tuesday, Derwin noted that the NAACP branch did not contact him and did not send a copy of the statement to him, saying they "didn't figure I needed to see it." As a result, he said "I can't give you a comment" regarding the statement.
"One comment I will give: I'm a straight shooter, I'm up front." He said he stands by anything he has posted.
Derwin was not present when the School Board voted to appoint him, but said he has been sworn in "in a private ceremony." The board has a special meeting scheduled for Thursday, but he said due to a medical procedure he won't be able to attend.
"Frankly, I wouldn't address this in that forum anyway," he added. "I'm happy to talk to anybody about anything" related to the district at the meetings, he said. "Outside of those meetings, if someone wants to argue politics, I will."
A review of Derwin's postings shows a heavy emphasis on sports, with some pics of food and drinks. It is peppered with some political comments, the most recent on Dec. 20 with a picture of President Joe Biden and his son Hunter, who is facing multiple federal indictments, and words from the Harry Chapin 1974 song Cat's in the Cradle: "My boy was just like me."
There are other posts with negative images of Biden.
Some posts have the message "This content isn't available right now," and some are marked as "False information" and blurred, though still available for viewing with a few mouse clicks (or screen taps). In another post, Derwin refers to getting "out of Facebook jail" — apparently referring to being temporarily suspended from the social media site — for calling Harris "a pig."
Posts regarding Harris tend to be older, including 2021 posts describing her as a "whore" and one apparently from 2020 describing her as "a black whore who slept her way to where she is today."
The NAACP statement said "Freedom of speech and opinion is something we all hold dearly, but when it is abused by a public official to express an opinion that reflects poorly on the community and institution they represent it needs to be called out and appropriate action must take place. We believe that Mr. Derwin should resign for these scurrilous comments."
Derwin ran for School Board last year and came in sixth in a race for five seats. When Board Member Randy Swank resigned near the end of last year, the board voted to appoint Derwin to complete the term, which runs to the first Monday in December of 2025.
Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish
