NC professor resigns after profane Facebook post about Juneteenth. ‘Sickening’
A university professor in North Carolina has resigned following a profanity-laced post about Juneteenth that appeared on his Facebook page.
Monte Miller, an associate professor in the School of Social Work at East Carolina University since 2005, resigned Thursday, a university spokesperson confirmed in an email to McClatchy News.
The since-deleted post on Miller’s Facebook page said, “Hey there. How about F*** Juneteenth!!!” A screenshot of the post was subsequently shared online.
Miller did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment Friday.
The university declined to comment “on an individual personnel issue” but said it is “committed to upholding First Amendment rights,”citing the UNC-System policy on free expression.
“ECU does not endorse or support viewpoints that dismiss, marginalize or disrespect anyone based on race, gender or ethnicity,” the spokesperson said. “We also stand on the principle of free speech.”
Dozens of people had criticized the post as “pure ignorance” and a “disgrace.”
Liz Liles, a graduate student in the School of Social Work at ECU, accused Miller of misusing his platform in a statement to WITN.
“It is incredibly disheartening and honestly sickening to know that as a student and as someone who is serving my community and advocating for equality for all people, that we have people who are in positions of leadership and are using that platform in such a negative way,” she told the TV station.
Joseph Lee, interim director of the School of Social Work, and Dr. Anisa Zvonkovic, dean of the College of Health and Human Performance, issued a statement about the incident on June 25.
“The School of Social Work has a mission that includes promoting everyone having a fair chance to thrive through racial equity and social justice and will continue to uphold University values, including prompt review of any reports of prohibited conduct or unlawful speech in our classrooms and workspaces,” they said on Facebook.
“The School also recognizes that faculty members have the right to express their personal opinions — even if undesirable or abhorrent — in their private personal lives,” they added.
Miller appears to have two Facebook profiles, including one that claims to have been hacked. The second page has a statement from June 28 in which Miller acknowledges “a lot of attention given to my Facebook page lately.”
“I’m not going to repeat the problematic post that appeared on my page,” he said. “What I can do is to state that as a social work educator I have never discriminated in any way towards any group of people. This includes diverse groups in terms of race, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, religious beliefs and other qualities that make people different and enrich society.”
Miller went on to say he was “still trying to figure out what happened” but won’t “simply stand still and take the personal and professional attacks.”
“I stand on my teaching and practice records,” he said. “I have always followed the NASW Code of Ethics and the policies of the various universities at which I have taught and worked including ECU. Educating social workers has been my life work and I will not accept it being discounted or slandered.”
In a statement on June 24 to the East Carolinian, ECU’s campus newspaper, Miller called the post “terrible.”
“The post was unacceptable,” he said, according to the newspaper. “I don’t know what else to say.”
