Jane Wood Allen, an employee of Chastatee Elementary School in Gainsville, was axed last Monday over a racist Facebook post referring to US First Lady Michelle Obama as a "gorilla". Forsyth Country Schools issued a statement that "racism and discrimination are not tolerated" in the school district. Apart from that, Allen made previous posts that contain anti-Hispanic and anti-Muslim sentiments.
On Aug. 27, Allen shared the Opposing Views' article entitled "First Lady Michelle Obama continues to top lists of most admired women in the world. Do you admire her?" Her comment on the post read, "I admire a gorilla more than I admire her. (Wait I forgot, she is a gorilla)! ... She is the worst example of a First Lady ever! (Oh sorry, I meant gorilla not First Lady)!"
The viral post was featured in CBS News, and the District Spokeswoman Jennifer Caracciolo informed that the decision to sack Allen was made after the officials learned about the racist post. She has since been relieved from her duty and is no longer connected with Forsyth County Schools. "Racism and discrimination are not tolerated in our school district. We are committed to ongoing staff training on the acceptance of all individuals," Caracciolo added.
Aside from the "gorilla" quip, Allen even made a scathing remark against the FLOTUS, questioning "how is she going to function in the real world, by not having all of her luxurious vacations paid for anymore," calling her a "disgrace" to the US afterwards.
Parents of students studying at the Forsyth School District were shocked and upset on said post. While they understand that they have the First Amendment, they all agreed that Allen's post went too far. WSBTV noted that while Americans have the freedom of speech, teachers are responsible for setting their own standards high without being too emotional towards political matters. Given the present case, teachers should focus more on molding their students to have a better future.
After the controversial post, Allen deleted it and her account in no longer available on Facebook. News channels tried to get her side of the story but they got no answer.
