Jane Wood Allen: Georgia Teacher Fired For Racist Facebook Posts Comparing Michelle Obama To A Gorilla


Georgia teachers’ aide Jane Wood Allen has been fired for making racist posts on Facebook, in which she described First Lady Michelle Obama as a “gorilla,” among other social media posts of questionable taste.

As Forsyth News reports, until this week Allen was a “parapro” (that is, paraprofessional) at Chestatee Elementary School. However, on Monday school officials announced that she had been terminated from her contract due to her behavior on social media.

Facebook user Shea Marie, among others, became aware of Allen’s Facebook posts and brought them to the attention of school officials. Allen’s Facebook page has since been set to “private,” but Shea and other users have shared screenshots of some of her posts.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10103546178082713&set=o.1681545195495399&type=3&permPage=1

On August 27, Allen posted a link to a Facebook piece from the magazine Opposing Views, which asked, “First Lady Michelle Obama continues to top lists of most admired women in the world. Do you admire her?” In Allen’s response, she used the word “gorilla” three times.

“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)!”

In another Facebook post, Allen posted an article from Americannews.com entitled, “Outrage after Michelle Obama Slips Up…America Furious.” Again, Allen used the word “gorilla” in her own caption to the article.

“This poor Gorilla. How is she going to function in the real world, by not having her luxurious vacations paid for anymore? She needs to focus on getting a total make-over (especially the hair), instead of planning vacations!”

Allen has also made anti-Muslim and anti-Hispanic Facebook posts, according to Opposing Views.

Jennifer Caracciolo, a spokeswoman for Forsyth County Schools, confirmed this week that Allen had been fired, specifically for her racist Facebook posts.

“Effective Monday, October 3, 2016, Jane Wood Allen has been relieved from duty and is no longer an employee of 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.”

This is not the first time a Forsyth County Schools employee has been in hot water for racist Facebook posts. Back in February of this year, The Forsyth News reported on the case of Lambert High School Principal Gary Davidson, who had been placed on leave for six days for Facebook posts that were considered offensive.

Unlike Jane Wood Allen’s posts, which seemed mostly to be about race, Davidson focused on religion. Specifically, he made several Facebook posts that were seen as anti-Islamic. One post was a picture with the caption, “One nation under God, not Allah.” Another post supported Georgia Governor Nathan Deal’s calls to stop Georgia from accepting Syrian refugees.

Other posts mentioned Caitlyn Jenner and LGBTQ rights in an “unfavorable” way.

However, instead of firing Davidson, school officials placed him on leave, then gave him his job back. Forsyth County School Superintendent Jeff Bearden said in a statement that he believed Davidson had learned his lesson.

“Dr. Davison has apologized for his mistakes and is fully committed to regaining the community’s trust. I firmly believe he has learned from this experience and is committed to ensuring a positive culture and climate for all students that attend Lambert.”

Jane Wood Allen, meanwhile, has not yet publicly commented on her firing, as of this writing.

So you believe that Ms. Allen deserved to be fired for her racist Facebook posts?

[Featured Image by JaysonPhotography/Shutterstock]

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