(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — More than 3,200 people have signed an online petition to try to get a Southwest Side high school to re-hire a teacher who was fired after using the N-word in class.
Mary DeVoto taught for 41 years at Mother McAuley High School. She was teaching a social science class last week when she — twice — used the full N-word in a discussion about racial slurs.
DeVoto had been talking in class about how abhorrent slurs were that have been used against Native Americans and blacks — specifically the old team name for the Washington Commanders, and the N-word. But DeVoto used the full N-word twice, and it was caught on a recorder by a student who tapes lectures for studying purposes. The comments made it to social media.
DeVoto’s daughters started an online petition to try to get her job back. They pointed out she has raised two biracial daughters and an Indian daughter and has never been accused of racism. She has apologized repeatedly, the petition says.
Still, on social media, there are those who applaud the Catholic school for firing DeVoto.
One woman wrote on Facebook there’s never a good excuse to use slurs in a classroom setting. That same woman pointed out that DeVoto's apology is not good enough and that "there has to be accountability."
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