An elementary school employee in Georgia was fired this week after it was revealed that she allegedly posted racist messages on Facebook.
Jane Wood Allen, who served as a teacher’s aide at the Chestatee Elementary School in Gainesville, allegedly called first lady Michelle Obama a “gorilla” in an August Facebook post.
“I admire a gorilla more than I admire her (Wait, I forgot, she is a gorilla),” Allen allegedly wrote while linking to an article noting that Obama was one of the most admired women in the world.
Allen also allegedly stated that Obama was “the worst example of a First Lady ever! (Oh sorry, I meant gorilla not First Lady)!” More recently, she allegedly described the first lady as a “poor gorilla.”
Her posts, which have been deleted along with her entire Facebook presence, were preserved by a number of social media users, including University of Houston teaching assistant Roni Dean-Burren, whose post went viral:
The school’s Facebook page was also removed, but the district posted on its page that Allen had been fired.
“Effective Monday, Oct. 3, Jane Wood Allen has been relieved from duty and is no longer an employee of Forsyth County Schools,” the district said in a statement released online, adding:
Racism and discrimination are not tolerated in our school district. We are committed to ongoing staff training on the acceptance of all individuals. As this is a personnel matter, the district will provide no further comment.
Allen’s name has already been removed from the school’s online directory.
Forsyth County News reported that this was the second time this year that a district employee had been in trouble for comments posted on social media. A principal was placed on leave for six days after posting anti-Islamic messages on Facebook. However, he was allowed to return to his job.
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