RALEIGH, N.C. — A North Carolina superintendent candidate says her comments about the Nov. 5 general election being the “American Revolution 2.0” are a reference to the “war” that families feel they are engaging in and against public schools.
Michele Morrow, the Republican nominee to run the state’s public schools, wrote in a message to Republican groups in late September: “If we lose NC, we lose the White House and our future. Our children are being attacked. This is the American Revolution 2.0! We either willingly fight now, or we will be forced to fight on Nov 6th. This is war, ladies and gentlemen! Which side of history will you be on?”
She sought to clarify in a statement on Thursday that she was speaking figuratively in the Sept. 30 message.
“I am in no way calling for violence of any sort,” Morrow said in the statement. "Parents feel like they are at war with the failing school system, and students who are bullied and beaten in schools also feel like their schools are a war zone. Our children are suffering and they need a superintendent that is going to fight for them, not cover up bullying, sexual assaults or violent attacks in our schools. My choice of words reflects how students and parents are feeling. This is the fight I’m referring to and this is the fight that I will continue whether I am elected superintendent or not."