A college history professor has been placed on leave after criticizing a planned gay pride event in Cullman.
Leigh Ann Courington, a professor of history at Wallace State Community College, took to her private social media page to call for a rally to address the pride event titled Cullman Comes Out, which is slated to take place on October 8.
“The devil is attacking our beautiful town of Cullman now apparently … and the police chief is in on it?” Courington said in her post. “I heard he was a crazy-ass liberal but this??? We need a rally by the you-know-what to put an end to this foolishness. Of course, it may be as well-attended as the Juneteenth event the white liberal weirdos tried to do a few years ago in Hanceville.”
The “all ages” event is slated to host musicians and performers and a planned speech from the Cullman Police Chief, Kenny Culpepper.
Wallace State subsequently released a statement, announcing that Courington had been placed on leave following her comments.
“Wallace State Community College condemns racism and bigotry in all its forms, and addresses any infractions of our policies decisively, including and especially those that prohibit discrimination,” the statement read. “The recent statements made by one of our employees are offensive to everyone who values human life, equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility. The employee has been placed on administrative leave pending further investigation.
“[W]allace State was named a Caring Campus by the Institute for Evidence-Based Change several years ago, and that designation is based in part on the holistic services, welcoming environment and sense of acceptance students find here, and on our work toward diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. Our efforts to create an inclusive, caring campus will always be ongoing. This incident is a reminder that we must never think this work is done.”
To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email craig.monger@1819news.com.
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