Slavery Facebook meme: Darlington councillor faces misconduct hearing

Darlington opposition councillors made a complaint after failing to get an explanation

A councillor is facing a misconduct hearing over a social media post which said white people had also been slaves.

A Darlington Borough Council inquiry found Pauline Culley had broken its code of conduct.

Mrs Culley was criticised by opposition councillors for apparently posting a meme saying people of all races had ancestors who "took slaves, sold slaves or were slaves - you're not special".

Mrs Cullen has been approached for comment.

The meme was posted on Mrs Cullen's public Facebook page at the height of the Black Lives Matter protests last year, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

After the post generated criticism, Mrs Culley, who has served on the authority since 2014 and chairs the South Durham Conservative group, deleted the account.

'Suggested suffering insignificant'

Leaders of the opposition Liberal Democrat, Labour and Green groups lodged a joint complaint, which led to a council inquiry.

Green Party leader Matthew Snedker said people had been "appalled" by the post, as it downplayed the impact of slavery on black people and suggested their suffering was insignificant.

The post made Mrs Culley and the council appear less approachable on issues of discrimination and race equality, opposition councillors said.

The authority's report said Mrs Culley had been "very reluctant to give her opinion on the post" but, when pressed, said it was factual and that she had not added an opinion on its contents.

She did not think it was racist or offensive, nor that it incited hatred or was inflammatory, it said.

The council's standards panel will decide whether it interprets the meme as an attempt to downgrade the suffering of black people.

If the complaints are upheld the panel's available sanctions include writing a formal letter to Mrs Culley or calling for a motion to censure her.