claim: Samantha Bee's husband, Jason Jones, is fighting to keep poor people out of the school his children attend.
origin: In April 2017,Â afterÂ Samantha Beeâ€™s â€œNot the White House Correspondents Dinnerâ€ television event in which the comedian argued for the importance of a free press (while throwing a few jabs at President Donald Trump and his administration), web sites such as The Daily Wire andÂ Yes Iâ€™m Right published stories about the former Daily Show starâ€™s husband Jason Jones, who allegedly fought to keep â€œpoor black kids out of his childrenâ€™s schoolâ€: < Jason Jones is not only a former â€œcorrespondentâ€ for the left-wing Daily Show, he is also husband to Samantha Bee, one of the leftist leaders of the so-called Resistance Movement against President Trump. Oh, and Jones doesnâ€™t want the city of New York to move his childrenâ€™s school to a location that would make it more accessible to poor, black kids. Both Samantha Bee and Jason Jones are wealthy and very white. [â€¦] Samantha Beeâ€™s husband is not only fighting this move, the former correspondent is â€” get this â€” urging parents who agree with him not to talk to the media: â€œOne P.S. 452 parent speaking out against the move is comedian and former Daily Show correspondent Jason Jones, whoâ€™s married to Samantha Bee. â€œTo portray any opposition as classist or racist is as bad as it can get,â€ Jones told WNYC. And elsewhere: â€œWe are not divided,â€ he said at a public hearing about the proposal, â€œwe are absolutely united in wanting whatâ€™s best for our children,â€ then encouraged fellow parents not to talk to the press about the controversy.â€ > Both articles lifted a storyÂ originally published by SlateÂ in June 2016 about the rezoning of public schools in New York City. Despite the fact that this article was nearly a year old (and the issue has been resolved), these web sites present the story as if Jones were currently fighting the rezoning plan: < Samantha Beeâ€™s Husband Fights To Keep Poor, Black Kids Out Of His Childrenâ€™s School. Husband of Trump-Hater Samantha Bee is Fighting to Keep Poor Black Kids Out of HIs Kidâ€™s School. Oops! > TheÂ web sites also mischaracterized what Jones actually said, in the process omitting a crucialÂ portion of his quote. In June 2016, the New York Cityâ€™s Department of Education proposed a plan which would have hadÂ P.S. 452, where theÂ Daily ShowÂ correspondentsâ€™ children attended school, move sixteen blocks south: < Facing persistent problems of crowding on the Upper West Side, and the thorny issue of school segregation, the Cityâ€™s Department of Education is considering another idea thatâ€™s met with sharply divided responses. The plan â€“ which is still in the early stage â€“ involves P.S. 452. The small school currently shares space with two other schools on West 77th Street. The city is looking into moving the school 16 blocks south, into the building now occupied by P.S. 191.Â Â P.S. 191 would relocate into a brand new building right near itsÂ current home on Amsterdam and 61st Street, that was originally going to be used for a differentÂ school.Â > Several parents spoke out against the plan for a variety of reasons. One argued that the move would make the commute unbearable, another accused the city of playing â€œmusical chairsâ€ with their childrenâ€™s education, while yet another said that the move would deprive children of the benefits of attending a school in their neighborhood, such as walking to school with friends. However, as this proposed plan involved moving the school next to a housing project and adding a more diverse group of students to the school, some critics characterized the planâ€™s opponents asÂ classist or racist.Â This is the characterization against whichÂ Jones spoke out during a public hearing in June 2016: < I was just going to come up and make jokes because everythingâ€™s been said, eloquently and not so eloquently. I read the newspaper for some reason, I canâ€™t believe itâ€™s still around, but it disheartens me to wake up in the morning and see that the Upper West side is divided. We are not divided, we are absolutely united in wanting whatâ€™s best for our children. Whether that means a bigger place for our children to learn, or wanting to keep it here, we are all united in wanting whatâ€™s best for them. That said. When you scroll down and you read rhetoric from some parents that suggests that you are opposed to this move â€˜those against this idea are terrified of what it would look like if the school were to be in an area by the projectsâ€™ is dishonest at best and slanderous at worst. So I urge you A, to stop talking to the press. This is a private matter, I think, from our community. This story doesnâ€™t exist without your quotes. And this goes for both sides too. Because the other quote is just insane from the other side, suggesting that opposing the relocation, that a high-performing school like this could not move to a (inaudible) poor area and not change, shows very little respect for these incredible teachers. So just be mindful of when you speak, if youâ€™re going to speak to the press, because slandering or saying anything negative about this teaching staff is wrong. And, conversely, painting any opposition as classist or racist is about as bad as it can get. > It is true that Jonesâ€™ children were affected by a school zoning issue in New York City in 2016. Although ethnicityÂ and financial status were both issues in theÂ debate, itÂ is false to say that the Comedy Central star was fighting at any point to â€œkeep blackÂ kids out of his childrenâ€™s school.â€Â