A video of a school board candidate in Missouri making racist remarks toward an Asian woman has surfaced.
According to KMOV 4, the video was recorded by Ryan Kerr, a candidate for the Parkway School Board, in 2016. It was posted anonymously eight days ago online and has thousands of views. In the video, he calls an Asian woman a “panda” and a “milk-fueled mule.”
“Let that Asian know what she’s worth. Apparently not much,” he said in the video, according to KMOV 4.
KSDK reports that Kerr says the video was sent to a small group of friends. The 39-year-old issued a statement saying he didn’t want to make excuses for the video but added that there is a lot of context missing.
“I didn’t make any excuses for it then, I won’t make any excuses for it now,” he said, KSDK reports.
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He admitted to being drunk when the video was taken.
“This was a very isolated and targeted event, intoxicated, and immediately following (a) false allegation of assaulting a female,” Kerr said in a written statement, according to KSDK. “It wasn’t right regardless and there weren’t any excuses. I apologized very publicly, privately, and sought a counselor.”
Kerr also said in the statement that he enrolled in cultural diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
According to the St. Louis Post Dispatch, community advocates like Heather Fleming, founder of Missouri Equity Education Partnership, are calling for voters to reject Kerr.
“Imagine voting this man into a position to represent and protect your children,” Fleming said, according to the Dispatch. “Don’t. Our kids deserve better.”
Kerr, a registered nurse, is one of seven candidates running for three open school board seats. Elections will be held April 4.
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