The superintendent of a Georgia school district was suspended after an audio recording was released that allegedly revealed him going on rants filled with racial slurs and expletives. Geye Hamby, the head of Buford schools, is facing a federal lawsuit for racial discrimination, and recordings of two conversations that allegedly included Hamby making the offensive remarks were filed with the court.
The lawsuit was brought by former school employee Mary Ingram, who made claims of discrimination and retaliation after she was allegedly fired “without justification.” Ingram included the recordings to back up her claims that Hamby is racist. One of the people on the recordings, who is said to be Hamby, could be heard repeatedly using slurs when discussing black construction workers.
“He said he worked for the temp service and he didn’t have to do what the fuck we tell him to do,” the man said in the first recording. “Fuck that n—-r, I kill these g–damn — shoot that motherfucker if they let me.”
“Don’t send us a deadbeat n—-r from a temp service,” the man said in the second recording.
Ingram, who is black, claims that things started going bad for her after she circulated a petition for the school to change their emblem to include the color gold to symbolize the area’s pre-integration black district. She claims that before she did this she received positive evaluations, but afterwards she would get written up until she was dismissed in 2017.
A lawyer for the school board said they are still trying to determine the authenticity of the recordings, saying the board has “been unable to determine its veracity and authenticity and whether the recording was altered and was at the consent of at least one party or the product of illegal surveillance.” He continued, saying, “Our investigation continues into this matter, but we are hamstrung in that the plaintiff has failed or refused to produce the original recording for testing or provide any information concerning the background or foundation of the recording.”
Hamby declined to comment on the lawsuit in an email to the Gwinnett Daily Post, other than to say, “This is a personnel and legal matter pertaining to a disgruntled employee. District council (sic) has advised not to comment.”
Meanwhile, Hamby is on administrative leave. The school system said they plan to take action soon.
“The board anticipates further action on this matter at a specially called meeting in the next several days,” they said in a statement to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “The district will continue to focus on the mission of empowering our students to reach their full potential.”
[Image via Buford School District]
