In Troup County, Georgia, Debbie Burdette, a school board member and current school board candidate, promotes child literacy in the community -- which is undoubtedly a laudable endeavor. However, Burdette, a white woman, promotes literacy by reading books to children while she is dressed as an African caricature called "Mama Jama." The "Mama Jama" character has a television show on LGTV, the government television channel in the City of LaGrange, Georgia, and "Mama Jama" was recently named grand marshal of the Fourth of July parade in LaGrange. (Note that "Mama Jama," not Burdette, was named grand marshal; you can see the announcement in the local newspaper at http://lagrangenews.com/view/full_story/18876660/article-%E2%80%98Mama-Jama%E2%80%99-chosen-as-grand-marshal-of-Fourth-of-July-parade)

Many people in our community find it racially offensive when Burdette dresses in traditional African clothing and assumes the "Mama Jama" character. Burdette says that she wears the costume to get attention, but surely a school board member can find a less offensive method of capturing the attention of children.

According to the website for Troup County Certified Literate Community Program, of which Burdette is the Executive Director, she "created the character of Mama Jama 16 years ago [in 1994] to help teach Bible studies for her son’s Vacation Bible School at First Presbyterian Church" and "since then, Mama Jama has become a beloved storyteller and champion for literacy." (Visit the website for the Troup County Certified Literate Community Program and see a photo of the "Mama Jama" character here: http://www.troupclcp.org/index.php/news/detail/30/)

The Ohio University group STARS (Students Teaching About Racism in Society) explains why this type of costume is offensive in their campaign "We're a Culture, Not a Costume." Essentially, the group explains, it's not okay to reduce an entire culture or ethnicity to a silly caricature. (Learn more about STARS at http://www.ohio.edu/orgs/stars/Home.html)

Jelani Cobb, former professor of African studies at Rutgers University, spoke to CNN about the costuming issue: "The more we look at people as caricatures, the harder it is to operate as democracy. What underlies this kind of costuming is the belief that these people aren't quite equal to what we are, or aren't as American as we are, or that you as a person who's not a member of that group should be able to dictate how painful the stereotype should be." (See the CNN article at http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/26/living/halloween-ethnic-costumes/index.html)

If someone is going to dress in traditional African clothing (or clothing representative of any other culture), then it should be done in the spirit of celebrating that culture, not demeaning it. Burdette has created a stereotypical African character called "Mama Jama" that's supposed to be laughable -- but many people find this caricature to be offensive, not funny.

One would think that Burdette, as a school board member, would be more sensitive to multicultural issues; however, she continues to dress as "Mama Jama" after previous public complaints about the caricature. Perhaps it's asking too much to for Burdette to do the right thing, stop wearing the offensive costume, and make a public apology. However, it's not asking for too much to have the "Mama Jama" television show removed from the local government TV channel, LGTV, which is funded by tax dollars. If the "Mama Jama" caricature offends just one person, that's one too many. As a citizen of LaGrange, GA, I certainly don't want my tax dollars to fund racially offensive programming in our community.

Please sign this petition if you agree that the City of LaGrange should stop airing the "Mama Jama" television show on its government TV channel, and share this petition with your friends.