University of Pennsylvania professor Anthea Butler recently used a racial slur against GOP presidential candidate Ben Carson after he said NASCAR
should be able to fly the Confederate flag because its races take place on private property.
Campus Reform was able to get a screen shot of the September 29 tweet before Butler took it down after the website contacted her for comment about it.
"If only there was a 'coon of the year' award…" Butler's tweet read. "Coon" is a racial slur referring to African-Americans. Both Butler and Carson are black.
Campus reform cites the
Online Etymology Dictionary as saying the slur likely stems from the Portuguese word barracoos, which was a "building constructed to hold slaves for sale."
"In effect, then, Butler's tweet insinuated that Carson is a metaphorical slave who belongs in a wooden shed," Campus Reform wrote.
Butler has stirred controversy before, saying
in a blog post that God is a "white racist" after George Zimmerman was found not guilty in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.
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