Elephant with KKK imagery shared on Alabama county GOP page was a mistake, chair says

The chair of an Alabama county Republican Party says she will not resign after a picture of an elephant with KKK imagery was temporarily shared on the party’s Facebook page.

The image depicts a red, white and blue elephant with what appear to be three, white-hooded figures with dark eyes between its legs, according to a screenshot of the Facebook post shared on Twitter by Alabama State Rep. Anthony Daniels, a Democrat.

Shanon Terry, the GOP chair in Lawrence County, apologized in a statement posted on Aug. 15. The Lawrence County Republican Party Facebook page can no longer be found.

“A google search picture of a GOP elephant was used and later found to have hidden images that do not represent the views or beliefs of the Lawrence County Republican Party,” the statement says. “The picture was then immediately replaced. As chairman(,) I take full responsibility for the error.”

The last time the page could be viewed, on the afternoon of Aug. 18, the post in question displayed a Republican party symbol of an elephant with no racist imagery.

Many critics blasted the party on social media for allowing the offensive image to be shared.

“Shame on the Lawrence County Republican Party for this disgusting image,” Daniels tweeted.

“Do you see the hooded figures resembling Klansmen in between the legs of a GOP elephant?” tweeted Devita Davison. “Saying the quiet part aloud!”

In a statement sent to McClatchy News by email, Terry said she would not be resigning from her position on the Lawrence County School Board.

“I regret the mistake that was made, and it was just that — an unintended mistake,” the statement says. “The image posted by me on a political Facebook page was not done with any malicious or harmful intent… I do not support or agree with any hate group agenda and certainly would not try to further their cause.”

The Ku Klux Klan was formed in 1865 when Southern states from the Confederacy were attempting to rejoin the union, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. It acted as a violent vigilante group that killed thousands of Black people and terrorized voters in an attempt to keep whites in power, according to the law center. Its members have been known for their costumes with pointed white hoods.

While groups are still present in the country and sometimes hold rallies and other types of events, the Klan’s activity has declined in recent years, according to the law center.

But overall, hate crimes increased in the U.S. from 2019 to 2020, according to the Department of Justice. In 2020, there were 8,052 incidents of hate crimes motivated by a single bias, compared with 7,103 in 2019. In 2020, of the incidents of hate crimes, nearly 62% were motivated by the victim’s race or ethnicity.

This story was originally published August 18, 2022 at 7:06 PM with the headline "Elephant with KKK imagery shared on Alabama county GOP page was a mistake, chair says."