A professor at a historically black college (HBCU) is reportedly under investigation after allegedly making insensitive jokes about the death of Trayvon Martin.
A student at Fort Valley State University identified as Janei Dortilus claimed on Twitter that her professor told another student, “Take your hoodie off… you’re not going for skittles and sweet tea.” The alleged comment referred to the death of Trayvon Martin, who had those items in his possession when he was shot in 2012.
Martin’s highly-publicized death was considered by many to be racially motivated. (RELATED: White Professor Resigns After Being Accused Of Pretending To Be Immigrant Woman Of Color Online And Making Racist Remarks)
Dortilus stated the comments left her “speechless” in her viral tweet. Sympathizers of the student began to tag the university’s Twitter handle to bring the tweet to their attention. Others critically noted that the comments came during Black History Month.
Open for a surprise ???? https://t.co/BrmS2Wz925 pic.twitter.com/N32xCSz0ZI
— Janei✨ (@janeithedoll) February 16, 2021
The professor was identified from a screenshotted email allegedly sent by Dortilus as Regina Ivory Butts; a Regina C. Butts is listed as an assistant professor and department chair on the university’s website. The university responded that an investigation into the allegation is underway, according to The State.
“Because we take our students’ experience very seriously and want to promote the highest level of student success in a positive environment — in following the University’s protocols, we immediately opened an investigation into this complaint to clearly understand what occurred,” a spokesperson for the university told McClatchy News in a statement reported by The State.
The Daily Caller reached out to Fort Valley State University for comment but received no response by time of publication.