A town manager with segregationist views who called for races to “voluntarily separate” will not resign but said he expects to be fired soon. He also claims he’s not racist.
Tom Kawczynski, town manager of Jackman, Maine, shares a host of racist, anti-women, anti-LGBT and pro-Trump ideologies on his websites. He told the Bangor Daily News in describing his views, “We are pro-white without being anti-other groups in terms of their racial identity. But we oppose the idea of bringing people in from the outside that come from different cultures.”
The “we” he is referring to is New Albion, a group Kawczynski started about a year ago, around the same time he moved from New Hampshire to Maine. According to its website the group is “defending the culture and people of New England.”
Kawczynski also told the Bangor Daily News “that he wants to preserve this region’s white majority and keep out Muslims, but rejected the idea that his views are racist, saying that people of different racial backgrounds are welcome in his movement as long as their culture is ‘rooted in Western civilization.'”
Previously on his Gab profile Kawczynski reposted a picture that says, “Leaves are like civilizations. They change color as they die.”
Kawczynski reportedly wrote in a blog post, “while I am not an absolutist on race, understanding the many complications created by the American system, I do believe to the extent we voluntarily separate, the happier every group will be as they regain self-determination.”
That “voluntarily separate” passage could no longer be located on Kawczynski’s website, but a post titled “Voluntary Separation An Honest Analysis” was published on Jan. 20 and defended those views, seemingly in response to public backlash.
Kawczynski compared his suggestion to Historically Black Colleges and Universities: “If you tried to have white only universities, it would be considered apostasy, yet there that right only is reserved for some minorities.”
But he did not mention that the history of HBCUs was not a “right only reserved for some minorities” but rather the only option Blacks had for a fair education.
And HBCUs do not bar white students. While HBCUs were established so Blacks could obtain an education during a time when traditional schools would not admit them, they notably serve students of all ethnicities today. According to a Pew Research Center report from February:
“Although these schools were established to serve black students, HBCUs have long enrolled students of all races and ethnicities a trend that has become more prevalent over the years. The percentage of HBCU students who were either white, Hispanic, Asian or Pacific Islander, or Native American was 17% in 2015, up from 13% in 1980. Hispanic students, in particular, have seen their overall shares grow on HBCU campuses, increasing from 1.6% in 1980 to 4.6% in 2015.”
After President Donald Trump’s “shithole” comments about Haiti and African nations, Kawczynski reposted on his Gab page, “God, they are SHITHOLE countries. Black countries everywhere suck major ass. Why do you think they are always trying to move to White countries Friggin’ CNN asswipes now going APE.”
He also reposted derogatory comments about transgender people. The post read, in part: “I HAVE HAD IT WITH THIS SICK, TWISTED, DEGENERATE BS THEY KEEP SHOVING DOWN OUR KIDS’ THROATS!”
He wrote two weeks ago, “It’s no accident unattractive women make up the vast majority of feminists. Their issue is less with the roles men and women play, and more with resentment about the lack of attention they draw from men due to these attributes.” He also reposted a picture with a caption that included “#FeminismIsCancer.”
Over the weekend Kawczynski posted on his Gab page, “I’m guessing I should be working on my resume as my public sector career looks likely to draw to a close in one form or another. Do any gabbers need a smart writer who has plenty of skills to do independent work from home I plan on writing a book about this all now.”
Trump and HBCUs
Kawczynski’s inaccuracies about HBCUs are not a shock, though. He is a Trump supporter and was reportedly Lisbon town chair for Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. And Trump and his administration have not been supportive or even knowledgeable of HBCUs.
Following a meeting last year with leaders at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Education Secretary Betsy DeVos released a statement that raised questions about how much listening she did at the session.
DeVos described HBCUs as “real pioneers when it comes to school choice.”
“They are living proof that when more options are provided to students, they are afforded greater access and greater quality,” DeVos said.
Also last year the Trump administration suggested that funding for HBCUs may be “unconstitutional.”
