MONROE — A Monroe School Board member has resigned after videos surfaced of his teenage daughter defending her use of the N-word.
Jerry Martin, first elected to the board in 2017, tendered his resignation from the board, the district announced Thursday. The decision after multiple videos shared online showed his daughter and a friend defending their use of the N-word, even as fellow students asked them to stop. One video has more than 200,000 views.
Martin could not be immediately reached for comment. Both he and his daughter publicly apologized for the videos earlier this week.
“The pain and suffering that my family has endured over the past few days does not compare to what others have dealt with for years,” Martin wrote on Facebook Tuesday. “I am determined that I need to get better educated and involved regarding inequalities in our district to become a better community member.”
An online petition asking Martin to resign had received more than 5,700 signatures as of Thursday morning.
“As shared by Superintendent Dr. Blasko earlier this week, hate speech and viewpoints supporting such speech do not reflect the values of the Monroe School District,” school board President Jim Langston wrote in a statement Thursday. “I want to reiterate that the District does not, and will not, stand-by acts, messages, or tolerance of inequality from its students or its employees.”
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