SOUTH PARIS, Maine (AP)   A Maine school board member whose social media posts targeted Muslims and black people has resigned.

Harrison resident Robert Celeste on Monday denied his resignation last week had anything to do with critics of such posts who have called him racist and hateful. Celeste defended his defense of the white race to news outlets and told the Bangor Daily News that racism is anyone who disagrees with Islam.

Parents called for Celeste’s ouster at a recent school board meeting. They cited posts such as one addressed to Muslims that claimed the U.S. has the world’s highest concentration of armed Christians.

Celeste often criticized the teaching of evolution in his seat on a western Maine school board that covers eight communities. He was elected in an uncontested race in 2016.