Students walkout after Wisconsin security guard fired for telling student not to call him 'n***er,' Cher vows to pay his legal fees
Students of a high school in Wisconsin staged a walkout after a black security guard was fired by the institution for telling a student to not call him the n-word. Just hours after the protest by the students, iconic singer Cher also joined in by offering Marlon Anderson to pay his legal fees if he decided to sue the school district.
Cher, in a tweet on Friday, said she would "incur" Anderson's legal fees if he chose to file a lawsuit against the Madison Metropolitan School District. "How can people be this disrespectful?" the singer tweeted.
"A beloved man of color just passed and our nations mourning him. Congressman Elijah Cummings fought for justice. He was loved and feared. If you want to sue MMSD Ed. Board, I will incur your expenses."
The incident came to light after Anderon took to Facebook and shared his experience of getting fired in a brief post. He wrote: "Short story... I get called a b**** as* n***a, I responded 'do not call me n***a !' And I got fired. MMSD I unfortunately expected better."
The school protest was organized by the West Black Student Union and was led by Anderson's son Noah. He reportedly spoke during the demonstration on the difference in using the word as a slur versus a statement. Anderson is reportedly appealing his termination.
"What my father did is take a teachable moment from an African American male to a younger African American male. Why he shouldn't use the word and not refer to himself that way?" Noah said, according to WMTV. He also added that the walkout was just the beginning in getting the community to be more inclusive of other people.
"There has been tension in the MMSD for a while, and my dad just had to be a sacrifice for it. We're going to get it fixed - especially with all the support that we see," Noah explained.
"We started with what we want as students and that we want our voices to be heard. Anytime you make any type of decision and that they need to go into the communities - anytime they make a decision that affect a certain group of people."
Meanwhile, The Boys & Girls Clubs of Dane County announced in a Facebook post that they had hired Anderson as the Director of Program Operations.
"Marlon Anderson has an amazing track record working with local teens. Our CEO Michael Johnson worked with Marlon today to solidify a leadership role with Boys & Girls Clubs of Dane County," the center said in a Facebook post. "Effective Monday, he will serve as our Director of Program Operations managing volunteer engagement, special initiatives and teen recruitment. We are pleased to welcome Marlon to this temporary position until his appeal is finalized by Madison Metropolitan School District."