A white secretary at a Louisiana high school was forced to abruptly quit her job after making racist comments about Martin Luther King Jr. Day (MLK) in a text conversation with a colleague.
In a Facebook post Monday, Walter Geno McLaughlin, who describes himself as an artist, activist and organizer, shared a video with a picture of former Ouachita Parish Junior High School secretary Nelwyn Fontana along with a screenshot of her alleged texts.
The messages, sent to a person identified as “Coach,” refer to MLK Day, which celebrates the civil rights leader who protested racial discrimination, as “N***** Day” and also reference Luther King Jr. as “Mark. ‘
Fontana was slammed online by parents of children at the school and community members. After leaving late last week, the school, which confirmed to KTVE that the messages were genuine, said it “does not condone racism”.
A white secretary at a Louisiana high school was forced to abruptly quit her job after making racist comments about Martin Luther King Jr. Day (MLK) in a text conversation with a colleague
Former Ouachita Parish Junior High School secretary Nelwyn Fontana was slammed online by parents of children at the school and parishioners. After leaving late last week, the school confirmed the messages were genuine and said they “do not condone racism”.
“Nelwyn Fontana is an office secretary at Ouachita Jr High in Monroe, LA and took some time this #MLKDay to let us know what she really thinks about Dr. King,” McLaughlin wrote in the post shared on Facebook.
“What she didn’t realize is that she accidentally sent her hateful message to the wrong person.”
McLaughlin continued, “These are the kind of people we trust to raise our children. … As far as I know, the school district allowed her to resign, but there are many who feel she should have been fired.
In the screenshot of the message, Fontana informed the coach about Martin Luther King Jr.’s upcoming vacation.
“N***** day lol Mark Luther King,” she wrote, per the screenshot.
‘Huh? Say what? Where did that come from?” the other person replied.
“Remember your game[ers] Sunday [we’re] monday free For Mark Luther King Day Monday,” Fontana continued, appearing to confuse King Jr.’s first name.
In a letter to parents released Monday, director Darren Wheeler confirmed the secretary’s departure.
In a Facebook post Monday, Walter Geno McLaughlin, who describes himself as an artist, activist and organizer, shared a video with a picture of former Ouachita Parish Junior High School secretary Nelwyn Fontana along with a screenshot of her alleged texts
“Unfortunately, a text message containing racial slurs from a member of staff was brought to our attention on Friday evening,” the principal wrote.
“This employee is no longer employed by the Ouachita Parish School System. We do not condone racism in our schools or in our community.’
Another Facebook user said: “If you try to be hateful and text the wrong person. Ouachita Junior High School, Monroe, LA. #noplaceforracist’
A woman from Monroe, Louisiana, also posted the exchange to Facebook, saying, “God is exposing some people. That is [Nelwyn] Fontana @ Ouachita Jr. High.’
Her Facebook post received almost 700 comments, over 500 reactions and more than a thousand shares.
Community members were also quick to comment on broader racial issues at the school, with many feeling that the secretary should have been fired immediately rather than allowed to resign.
“Anyone actually from Ouachita… grew up in that system… we’re not shocked… lol… we grew up in that shit,” someone commented under the post.
“But how you get fired on your day off,” wrote another.
A parent of a black student at Ouachita Junior High, who asked to remain anonymous, told The Daily Beast that their child was discriminated against by teachers.
“It was one thing at a time in this school,” said the parent.
Fontana has deleted her social media presence since leaving school.
has reached out to principal Darren Wheeler for comment.