High school teacher fired for using racial slurs in class

By WBBM Staff

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    CHICAGO (WBBM) — A longtime teacher at Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School in the Mount Greenwood neighborhood was fired after using the N-word during class.

The teacher, Mary DeVoto, taught world history.

She said she was explaining to a student why sports teams’ use of Native American names is racist, when she used the full N-word two times.

The students complained, and DeVoto was fired.

We spoke to Ms. DeVoto by phone Thursday night. She said she made a mistake, but did not think she deserved to lose her job.

The school did not respond to our calls Thursday night. Meantime, DeVoto’s family has started an online petition to have her reinstated.

So far, it has collected nearly 3,000 signatures.

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