Remember Rusty DePass, the South Carolina Republican activist and former state elections director who apologized yesterday after he joked on Facebook that an escaped gorilla from a local zoo was an ancestor of Michelle Obama? It turns out that he recently had another important job: Promoting racial diversity in the city of Columbia.

The State points out that DePass served a three-year term on the Greater Columbia Community Relations Council. The council's mission statement is to promote: "positive relationships within the community"; "equal opportunity and fair services for all members of the community"; and "awareness and appreciation of cultural diversity."

An administrative assistant for the council tells us that a person becomes a board member by being appointed by either the city, the county or the local Chamber of Commerce, with each group appointing ten members. It was not immediately known which group appointed DePass.