NAACP reacts to campus racial slur with one of its own

The NAACP has once again found racism, a “stark reality” on American campuses—written in red marker on a white board at the University of South Carolina.

Several viewers shared a tweet depicting an unidentified student writing a racial slur on a white board, WTLX-TV reported Saturday.

SC NAACP responds to racist message at USC http://t.co/iQNxtDQ7Y8 pic.twitter.com/PwuCu8eQ0H

— News 19 WLTX (@WLTX) April 4, 2015

The photo began circulating on social media Friday.

The student in the image is shown writing a list of reasons she is dissatisfied with the university’s wireless connection. The first item on the list is a word (which has been blurred out) used as a racial slur referring to African-Americans.

The university reacted swiftly. One student was suspended—though it wasn’t clear if it was the same student pictured in the photograph. USC President Harris Pastides issued a statement saying “Racist and uncivil rhetoric have no place at the University of South Carolina,” according to WTLX.

State SC NAACP Director Lonnie Randolph responded with his own slur, implying that Southerners are racist.

“In the midst of the positive portrayal of University of South Carolina students over the past several weeks, we once again face a stark reality: even at our highest points as a society there are those among us – including the young – who wish they were still in Dixie,” Randolph wrote in a statement.

Randolph also used a quote attributed to French writer Alfonse Karr, “the more things change, the more they remain the same.”

The incident has kicked off a lively discussion on Twitter.

There are racist people everywhere including USC, but I’d be lying if I said that I felt uncomfortable there. Great place.

— Joe’Terrious Neal (@NealNmyPresence) April 3, 2015

Everyone who is defending her needs to keep with it so we can pick out all the other racist pieces of shit at USC too.

— grace (@grakke) April 3, 2015

@iEatGRITS I’m just not with the whole USC is racist thing. One white person did something wrong. Don’t blast the whole campus.

— Chuck B. Doe (@TweetTheTruef) April 3, 2015