‘There’s No Excuse’: White Texas County Worker Joins Unemployment Line Because She Thought Replacing a Racist Slur with ‘Obama-Rigged’ Was Acceptable
The director of an animal shelter in Tyler, Texas, was fired this week for making derogatory racial comments and for allowing her employees to use racial slurs unchecked.
Her firing stems from an Aug. 7 incident in which Smith County Animal Control employee Sarah Dike used a racial slur to explain bad repairs in the building, prompting laughter from other employees in the presence of shelter director Amber Greene, according to an employee who made a formal complaint to the county.
The complaint, obtained by CBS19TV, says the offended employee responded by telling her colleagues the slur wasn’t funny.
Then Greene said that staff should instead say “Obama-rigged,” which the complainant felt amplified the original slur. According to the complaint, a group of people around Greene laughed again at her comment.
“I was upset and hurt. I did not understand why my race was made into a joke. It bothered me all afternoon, into the night and the next day,” the complainant said, adding that they were hurt that Greene that didn’t do anything to stop the use of the slur, and that her inaction made things “worse.”
“She allowed them to hurt my feelings and make fun of my racial ethnicity,” the complainant wrote, referring to the staff’s actions as “very unprofessional.”
After investigating the incident, the county human resources department found that Greene’s behavior directly violated Smith County’s anti-discrimination and harassment policies and terminated her on Sept. 9.
“As a leader, your actions set the tone for the entire team,” wrote Chief Human Resources Officer Esmeralda Corona in Smith’s termination letter. “Making disparaging or inappropriate comments undermines the culture of respect and integrity we strive to uphold. Your behavior has been found to be inconsistent with the expectations of your role and the responsibilities entrusted to you.”
The “severity” of the offense warranted immediate action, according to the termination letter.
Dike was fired on Sept. 2 for using language and conduct that violated the county’s personal conduct and anti-harassment policy, reported CBS19.
Before she was fired, some animal control employees spoke in support of Greene at the Smith County Commissioners Court meeting this week, reported Tyler Morning Telegraph.
One employee said Greene had showed compassion and care, going above and beyond for the animals in her care as well as for her employees.
“She treats her team with fairness and kindness,” the speaker told the court. “Always willing to listen, to advocate for their needs. … Removing her from this role would be a great loss to the shelter, the employees and the animals we serve,” the speaker said.
After discussing the matter in a closed executive session, the commissioners unanimously agreed to allow the county HR department to terminate Greene, who had been reprimanded twice in the past three years for numerous performance issues including communicating poorly with peers, the public and local organizations; being “abrasive and defensive when confronted on issues;” and for failing to properly manage staff and the animal control budget.
Greene, who was appointed as animal control director in Feb. 2020, told KLTV in a phone interview that she intends to file a grievance over her firing.
“I don’t think that a thorough investigation went into the allegations,” she said. “I believe only one side of one of the employees was heard and not everyone else.”
Some of Greene’s advocates pointed out that she has been pushing county officials to build a new shelter and to repair the current facility, which was built in 1927 and is in poor structural condition, the Morning Telegraph reported. The county has approved only temporary repairs, which has led to a leaky roof, warped walls and floors and possible mold growth, posing health risks for both animals and staff.
The facility is also overcrowded, resulting in the euthanasia of animals and low morale for staff.
In a public meeting last month Greene was critical of county commissioners who made no increases to the animal shelter’s budget, after previously indicating they would.
Greene’s termination set off a lively debate online, where some people found her firing to be a violation of free speech, while others saw her termination as justified.
“So she was fired for other people expressing free speech in their place of business? That makes total sense,” wrote one person on Facebook.
“The problem we have today is everyone is so sensitive,” wrote another, whose profile features images of Confederate flags. “That should not be a fireable offense.”
Among many commenters who clapped back was a Black man from Alabama, who wrote, “Yes, she has the right to free speech, but that doesn’t mean her words are free from consequences in the workplace. When her actions and statements damage the company’s reputation, the business has to respond. You cannot openly express racist views and expect an organization to stand behind you, especially when it employs or serves people of many different backgrounds. That creates not only legal risks but also serious harm to the brand. Keeping her on staff would have been both bad for business and bad for employees. Actions have consequences.”
Some commenters explored the origin of the racial slur at the center of the workplace incident, and how it has been used historically in East Texas.
“The employee was talking about a repair to the building. They said it was slur word for ‘black people-rigged.’ Which means it was made to work but doesn’t look great and not a permanent fix,” noted a white woman from Lindale, Texas.
Others noted that the slur derives from the now interchangeable terms “jury-rigged” or “jerry-rigged,” which originated in the 16th century as a nautical term referring to assembling or repairing something quickly with the materials on hand, such as a broken mast, according to HowStuffWorks.
One white man from Sugarland, Texas, wanted to give Greene a pass for using the offensive timeworn term.
“Not to say it was ok, but you have to consider where smith county is,” he said. “That term was commonly used by her parent’s, grandparent’s, and going back generations. This was a pretty common phrase pre millennial generation for southern regions.”
A white woman from Tyler, Texas, wasn’t having it.
“I have lived in smith county all my life, had parents/grandparents/aunts and uncles etc that would use the slur in question both in derogatory ways and in what you seem to think would be considered ‘innocent’ ways. I knew it wasn’t okay since kindergarten. I spent an unfortunate amount of time of my childhood trying to reason with/ fight with the adults in my life about racism. There is no excuse.”