Chicago School Board President Resigns

by Mary Spiller

November 2, 2024

Mayor Brandon Johnson called Rev. Mitchell Johnson’s post sexist, antisemitic, and conspiratorial.

Reverend Mitchell Ikenna Johnson, the recently appointed head of Chicago’s school board, resigned from his position on Oct. 31. According to reports, he was allegedly exposed for having made antisemitic, sexist, and 911 conspiracy posts on his social media accounts.

Johnson, who sat as president of the Chicago Board of Education for just seven days before the incident, resigned effective immediately. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson requested for Johnson to take action after seeing the statements from his social media “that were not only hurtful but deeply disturbing.”

The mayor said in a press release, “I want to be clear: Antisemitic, misogynistic, and conspiratorial statements are unacceptable.” The referenced social media posts from Mitchell Johnson’s accounts come from past months. As reported by CNN, they were so disruptive that along with Mayor Brandon Johnson calling for Mitchell’s resignation, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker and the majority of the Chicago city council pushed for his resignation.

One of the posts in question includes a photo of the 9/11 terrorist attacks that was reposted by Mitchell Johnson in January. The caption allegedly read, “3,000 experts agree: 9/11 really was an inside job. Facts!!”

Mitchell Johnson also shared sexist views on his social media when he reposted a picture on his personal Facebook account that was overlaid with the message: “When a man earns money he dreams of giving his family and wife the best. But when a woman earns money she feels she does not need her man and her family. Sounds harsh but it’s reality.” He captioned the post in May, “Sad Facts.”

In another post that Chicago Council members are calling antisemitic, a video was posted of a Max Blumenthal podcast episode where a fan asked if Hamas began the Israel-Palestine conflict with their Oct. 7 attack last year. In the video, Blumenthal states that Israel initiated the war in 1948.

Mitchell Johnson captioned the post, “If you allow ignorance to be your guide, injustice will eventually be at your front door. We should all support a free and independent Palestinian State.”

Mayor Johnson appointed Mitchell Johnson as the board’s president, which prompted him to act swiftly after the social media posts were revealed. Mitchell Johnson’s comments on the Israel-Palestine conflict ignited debate, coinciding with the shooting of a Jewish man in a hate crime while walking to a Chicago synagogue recently.

“We want every single child in the city of Chicago to feel protected and loved, and particularly right now our Jewish community,” the mayor said.

City council members called for Mitchell Johnson to step down in a letter written by 50th Ward Alderman Debra Silverstein and signed by other council members. Silverstein wrote, “We are deeply troubled by the antisemitic and pro-Hamas comments made by Rev. Mitchell L Ikenna Johnson. The thousands of Jewish families who send their kids to Chicago Public Schools deserve representation who values them and does not express hate toward the Jewish community.”

Mitchell Johnson has since apologized for his comments on social media.

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