According to The Advocate, Valerie Scogin, who teaches at a Slidell High School, made the comments on another graduate's Facebook page last week. Slidell High alum Skylar Broussard saw Scogin’s post and immediately became irate.
"They don't have to live in that country. They could go back," Scogin posted. "But it was their own people selling them into slavery to begin with and tearing (sic) them even worse in those countries of origin."
"Want a better neighborhood? Move. You don't have to choose to live in those zip codes. Want to not be stereotyped, tell people of that color to quit acting like animals and perpetuating the stereotype," she concluded.
When Scogin was called out for her racial remarks, she continued to argue in the comments until she eventually offered a half-apology.
"Recently I posted a comment that may have been hurtful to some of you," Scogin wrote on her own Facebook page. "In my reaction out of frustration at another Facebook post, I made some remarks that were against my better judgment and sensibilities. I now wish I hadn't."
“The last thing I want to do is hurt anyone. I apologize for what I said and sincerely wish to avoid this in the future,” she added.
A spokesperson for the school system has said Scogin was punished, but she declined to add any additional details.
"The posting was voluntarily removed," St. Tammany Parish school system spokeswoman Meredith Mendez told The Advocate. "The appropriate disciplinary action has been taken. I can’t comment further due to this being a personnel matter."
Although Scogin did offer an apology, Broussard said it was not enough and did not fully address why the remarks were so offensive.
"Imagine comparing people of color to animals, then when you get caught you try to say you didn’t think it would hurt anyone," she said.
