Exclusive: Leftist Florida School Board Member Calls Black Conservatives ‘Token’ Ahead of Election

Elizabeth Andersen, a left-wing school board member in Duval County, Florida, used a racial slur to describe black conservative mothers who disagree with her agenda in a video conference with activists.

The county, which is consolidated with the city of Jacksonville, has school board elections on August 23 in which Andersen’s seat is being contested. The results will be decided that evening.

Andersen said, slamming the parents’ rights group Moms for Liberty, “So we have Quisha King – April Carney is my opponent – Tia Bess is another one that has a child with special needs and they often will sort of parade her out as a token person because everyone is doing harmful things to children with special needs, and that’s to push that agenda,” Andersen said, slamming the parents’ rights group Moms for Liberty.” [Emphasis added].

Andersen, who is also a mental health counselor, was speaking to Beaches Activists.

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Bess, who is a parental rights advocate and volunteer with Moms for Liberty, told Breitbart News she became involved with the Moms for Liberty movement because her son was “trapped in ESE purgatory” — ESE programs being part of Florida’s Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services for students with specific learning accommodations.

She explained that her son, who was diagnosed with autism, also had 50 percent hearing loss and struggled with masking because of his “extreme sensory issues” and that he “was just learning to communicate.”

“We eventually moved out of the county,” she said. “My son is now in 2nd grade, he can ride a bike and tie his shoes. He is thriving and working above grade level and has gone from ESE to being tested for gifted. All the progress my son has made is because of the effort my family has put forth. We didn’t let him fall through the cracks of the ESE program.”

King, who is a mom, parental rights activist, host of the Quisha King Show podcast, and formerly a volunteer with Moms for Liberty, told Breitbart News that “token” as a “racial slur that is meant to say a black person is being used by whites” has been around for decades to debase black persons who do not fall in line with leftist ideology.

“It’s fine for the left as long as I promote their approach,” Bess said. “If I’m burning down cities or a half-dressed background dancer it’s acceptable to be vocal. However, because I’m speaking up for the needs of my son, I’m vilified. I refuse to be intimidated by the tactics of the left.”

Those “tactics” speak to a broader political insecurity among the left, she said, adding, “They don’t want black voters to speak up. They are able to get away with these claims because people that look like me are intimidated to speak up. Maybe they are afraid to lose their jobs. Maybe they are afraid of what the neighbors will say. When I told my mother that I was going to speak up against the school board she was afraid for my safety. This is the mental prison that they keep people of color trapped in. I refuse to be a part of that political matrix.”

King said Andersen and others on the left are able to get away with this sort of language because establishment media outlets will cover for them.

“People like Elizabeth are able to get away with this behavior for several reasons: The mainstream media is typically quiet about it and covers for them, and they have blacks like Joy Reid and Tiffany Cross who will cosign their racism. It exposes the Lefts’ racism. They do not care about the parents or children who have legitimate questions about curriculum, history, etc., because if you are black and disagree with them you are illegitimate. They are perfectly fine with racism as long as they are promoting it,” she continued.

Carney, a working mom who is running to unseat Andersen in next week’s election, told Breitbart News that Andersen ran for the seat in 2018 as a “moderate conservative” but has since gotten in bed with teachers’ unions and promoted anti-parent and anti-student policies.

“A recent $100,000.00 donation from the American Federation of Teachers to her Political Committee, Kids First Duval, has many wondering if she is really for our students and teachers, or just unions and bureaucrats,” Carney said.

“She has divided this community by engaging in very partisan events that do not represent the majority of her district,” she continued. “In 2021 when she was Chairwoman, she defied the Governor and broke the law by continuing to mask children, which was a violation of the Parental Bill of Rights.”

“Just last month, she voted for a resolution to make in-school protests valid uses of instructional time,” Carney said. “Last year, only 48% of 3rd grade student received a Level 3 (on level) score on the FSA Exam. There is a lot of learning loss to make up from the pandemic and we should be focused on that, not political indoctrination.”

Regarding Andersen’s racial slur usage, Carney also pointed out media bias giving cover to leftists, saying, “They should not be able to get away with these disgusting slurs and I appreciate the attention a few news outlets are giving this issue. Unfortunately, the outlets spreading lies and innuendo about our campaign are giving cover to my opponent for this inconvenient and uncomfortable truth that has come out.”

“One NPR reporter even claimed that her Twitter account was hacked and made ‘private’ when people began sharing this video of my opponent using this term and tagging her in the quote and replies,” she continued. “It’s difficult to ignore the deafening silence of the legacy media on this issue, and wonder if they are giving cover to my opponent because they support her leftist activism on the school board.”

“It’s not even really a left or right thing, it’s a common sense and common decency thing,” Carney said.

“Away from politics, we know that black and Hispanic families are not aligned with the radical leftist views pushed forward by activists like my opponent,” she explained. “When presented with challenges by parents of color, they assume that their views aren’t genuine because the left thinks they know what is best and not parents.”

“The left is running scared from the fact that even the polls published by the teachers union prove that most people agree with our common sense approach to governance and want politics out of schools,” Carney continued. “Leave the moral and political education of children where it belongs, in the home. At school, we need to focus on literacy, math, and science so they are ready for college or to earn a good living in the workforce. There needs to be a reasonable separation of child and state.”

Carney told Breitbart News she decided to run for school board because Duval County Public Schools has faced “years of chaos” and while the area is relatively conservative, it still elected “far left political activists” to serve on its school board.

“I believe that the elected representative should match the character of those being represented, and the incumbent and her radical leftist views are completely out of step with the electorate,” she said. “I’m proud of my friends Quisha King, Tia Bess, and Congressman Byron Donalds (who endorsed my campaign) and dozens of other commonsense conservatives for sticking to their values in the face of disgusting slanders and slurs by leftist activists like my opponent.”

Carney is running to unseat Andersen in Duval County’s Second School Board District in the August 23 election.

Breccan F. Thies is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter @BreccanFThies.