Response to Councilman-elect Kelly’s Apology to CBS 3

PARC is relieved that Councilman-elect Kelly has apologized and acknowledged the gravity of appearing in blackface, reversing the statement he made one day prior.

Yesterday, Kelly:

“...vehemently disputed any characterization of the makeup as blackface” to the Courier Post, “I didn’t put blackface on,” Kelly said. “I went to a costume party. And it came … with it. This is what you got with it. That’s what I did. There was no intention to do blackface, or to belittle African Americans, or anything like that. It was a simple Halloween party.”

Today, Kelly made a statement to CBS 3:

“I do understand that we live in a very different time and today, even as a celebration of one’s fame, I would not even consider wearing a costume that included blackface,” Kelly said in the statement. “I apologize to anyone who may be hurt by my costume choice of years ago and will soon reach out to the Pitman Anti-Racist Collective (PARC) so we can hopefully schedule a meeting and have some open, honest dialogue.”

PARC believes this is evidence that education about cultural issues can change hearts and minds. Our group looks forward to communicating with Councilman-elect Kelly, in hopes that further DEI training can improve his understanding of nuanced cultural issues in our town. PARC has reached out to the Gloucester County chapter of the NAACP for guidance moving forward.

PARC would further like to clarify that our mission is not to “cancel” Councilman-elect Kelly, but educate him on the egregious practice of appearing in blackface, and the hurt it can cause to see an elected official engage in this practice. We look forward to his communication and participation in DEI training, hopefully with the guidance of local anti-racist organizations like the NAACP.

Interested parties can contact PARC via our website https://pitman-antiracist-collective.com/contact Or email us at info@pitman-antiracist-collective.com