A Michigan lawmaker, who is white, has been stripped of his staff and committee assignment after reposting a graphic appearing to show support for a racist ideology on X, formerly Twitter.
On Feb. 6, Republican Rep. Josh Schriver, who serves Michigan’s 66th House District, reposted an X post from the senior editor of a conservative political news site that showed a world map dominated by small black figures representing humans across every continent and featuring only a few white figures. Schriver shared on X a decreasing chart emoji along with the reposted map.
The words at the bottom of the map in the shared post read, “The great replacement!” as a reference to a conspiracy theory belief embraced by white nationalists that white people face a threat of extinction at the hands of nonwhite groups, the American Jewish Committee defines.
Atlanta Black Star has reached out to Schriver for comment.
Speaker of the House Joe Tate, a Black Democrat, said Schriver “has deeply and personally offended the Michigan House of Representatives” in a statement referring to the social media post as “blatantly racist.”
Tate’s statement said, “It is difficult for me to understand why he would hold these beliefs as a representative of a diverse group of Michigan residents.
“Furthermore, the fact that Rep. Schriver would espouse a deplorable and false theory and contend it is worthy of consideration puts his ignorance on full display,” Tate’s statement continued. “But ignorance is no excuse for proliferating obvious hate.”
Tate made the decision Monday to withhold the $132,000 office allotment for Schriver, the Longview News-Journal reported, and his staff will be reassigned.
“I will not allow the Michigan House of Representatives to be a forum for the proliferation of racist, hateful and bigoted speech,” Tate said in a statement on Monday.
“Schriver will be removed from the House Natural Resources, Environment, Tourism and Outdoor Recreation Committee, and the resources typically made available to a representative will be held by the House Business Office,” according to a statement from the Michigan House of Representatives.
Schriver is still allowed to cast votes in the House of Representatives.
Tate said that Schriver, who was first elected to the Michigan House of Representatives in November 2022, has displayed a history of “promoting debunked theories and dangerous rhetoric that jeopardizes the safety of Michigan residents and contributes to a hostile and uncomfortable environment for others.”
“Someone really needs to stage an intervention and take [Michigan] State Rep. Josh Schriver’s Twitter account away from him,” wrote Democratic Michigan State Rep. Betsy Coffia on X.
“He spews racist white replacement theory then when confronted, doubles down,” Coffia wrote.
Schriver posted in his defense of the accusations of racism against him via X on Monday, “I’m a Christian…not a racist,” and wrote in a separate post, “I’ve never found a form of racism compatible with Christian scripture.”
Chris Jackson, the executive director for the Michigan Legislative Black Caucus, said in a statement to Atlanta Black Star, “It’s sad that in 2024 we are still encountering this level of ignorance or blatant bigotry and racism in our state and around our country. The Michigan Legislative Black Caucus is fully in support of Speaker Tate’s decision to withhold the Representative’s office allotment and his removal from the committees he currently serves on.”
Jackson said that while the Black Caucus believes in freedom of speech, words “used to intimidate or [that] have the potential to incite violence” should have consequences.
“Living in a cooperative world only works when there is a willingness to collaborate from all parties involved,” he said.
