US: Black school guard loses job for asking student to not use slurs

Wisconsin high school, security assistant, Marlon Anderson, recently had an altercation with a student when he called Marlon the N-word and Marlon repeated the same while prohibiting the use of such a derogatory word.  A few days after the incident, the school administration told the security assistant that he was getting fired. According to reports, the school had a zero-tolerance policy on its employee hurling racial abuses within the school premises.

A wrong policy

Marlo's firing prompted a demonstration by the students as they walked out of the school to protest the administration's decision. In the wake of such a harsh decision, former education secretary, Arne Duncan, stated that America was still not capable of handling issues such as racism and issues black people face in the country.  Maron Anderson stated that he has often been subject to racial abuses but has always explained the history of the word to children who abused him. He also said that he is determined to get his job back.

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While speaking to a local media outlet, Anderson, talked about how he felt that he was being racially abused and did not want to hear it as his mother, father, and grandparents have all been targeted and had the slur hurled at them. Marlon also spoke about how he was the first member of his family who could look someone in the face and tell them not to use such a derogatory term and stated that it was not fair on anyone's part to take that away from him.

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The 'intention' matters

Later on, Anderson described the incident wherein he stated that he was escorting an unruly student out of school when the kid started abusing by calling all types of the N-word, and instead, he repeatedly tried to tell the kid to not call him that word. He also stated that one cannot eradicate racism by just ignoring the ongoing problem or try and hide something that cannot be hidden. He took a general example that talked about what if a white child called a black kid the N-word but didn't say it out loud. It all depends on the intention.

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Support from all sides

As the matter escalated, students walked out of the school towards the concerned authorities' office with banners that read - 'Black Staff Matter'. Also, a union comprised of local teachers had tabled a grievance seeking his reinstatement as the security assistant. People have also started to raise funds for his family on an online platform by the name of GoFundMe. After Marlon witnessed the support that he got, he got really emotional and was really happy to get this kind of support from students and teachers alike.

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(With agency inputs)