Maxwell giving a speech | Photo: Wikimedia/US Department of Labor
Mary Beth Maxwell, head of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, the organization’s education arm, resigned after a colleague reported she used a racial slur.
Politico first reported the news. They said Maxwell’s colleague reported she used the n-word twice while speaking to another colleague.
HRC President Chad Griffin wrote an email to the company explaining the situation.
‘In the first instance, the senior staff member recounted an upsetting personal story in which the term was used,’ he wrote. ‘In a second instance, the senior staff member repeated the word in describing an external situation that they found horrifying, in which racial and homophobic slurs were used.’
Griffin further wrote that intent doesn’t matter, and he shared the context to show ‘not having bad intent… does not make it acceptable’.
‘It is simply never acceptable for that word to be said by an employee in the workplace, period.’
An apology in solidarity
In another email, Maxwell shared her resignation and apology.
‘I believe in taking responsibility for my mistakes and how my words and actions impact others,’ she wrote. She then added: ‘I do not want my action or my presence to risk jeopardizing HRC’s mission-critical work for the full LGBTQ community.’
She said working at HRC was a ‘true privilege’ and that she will consequently continue her work for social justice.
‘It is humbling to learn from a mistake like this,’ she concluded. ‘The only thing to do is to take responsibility, reflect and learn, face down fear and keep at it. The work is too important for any of us to stay on the sidelines.’
More from Gay Star News
What is the Equality Act and why is it the most important thing for LGBTI people in the US?
Far-right Austrian politician gets heat after calling gay couple ‘f*ggots’
Celebrity Big Brother’s Rodrigo Alves under fire for using n-word twice
