In a heated exchange, Hamilton County school board candidate Republican Charles Paty at a debate Wednesday night accused his Black Democratic rival for the District 5 seat, incumbent Karitsa Jones, of being racist against white people.
The accusation came after moderators asked the candidates what made each of them a better choice for constituents living in the district, which consists of the airport, Bonny Oaks, Dalewood, Eastgate and Tyner communities. The debate was hosted by Chattanooga 2.0, Local 3 News and the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
"There have been some online content that I have found disturbing on the part of my opponent," said Paty, who is white. "In talking with people, they were concerned that my opponent, Mrs. Jones, was dealing in a form of racism against white people. And I felt like that was inappropriate that as an elected official, and as anybody, that cannot be tolerated. And if you do that, engage in that type of behavior, then you alienate part of your community."
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Paty said he was referencing Jones' podcast "Pearls of Blackness," where she has spoken about white privilege. He also referenced a confrontation between Jones and community members following a board meeting where, he said, she acted unprofessionally.
"It concerns me," Paty said. "It concerns me enough that if you're going to represent people, you have to represent everybody regardless of skin color, regardless of background."
Jones said her podcast is an exercise of her First Amendment right to free speech. She said that she did speak about white privilege on her podcast, but that she holds everyone accountable.
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"I also hold people that look like me, Black and brown people, accountable for their behaviors as well because I do not believe in just pointing a finger at one person or one population of people," Jones said.
Jones told Paty he hadn't done his research regarding the incident at the board meeting.
"As it relates to my behavior that day when the people came to the school board and accosted me, I would think as a legal professional, Mr. Paty would do a better job at passing judgment upon something without seeing all of the evidence," Jones said. "The tape started rolling after they accosted me and violated my personal space and my personal rights."
She added that she was raised not to see color.
"The people of District 5 know me. Whether they're red, white, blue, yellow, green or mixed colors, they know that I'm going to stand with them. They know that I stand for equity and diversity and that I stand for equitable access to education," Jones said."They know that I will be a voice and that I stand in adversity against people and things and statements and antics that are not for the people and the students and community of District 5."
Jones said that to be called a racist was wrong and that, from what she sees on his social media, many of Paty's supporters are racist and prejudiced.
"I have not seen anybody or seen anything (on my) Facebook page where people say that they are racist. That is just not true," Paty said.
Contact Carmen Nesbitt at cnesbitt@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6327. Follow her on Twitter @carmen_nesbitt.