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Yard apes
Posted by ESC on September 16, 2005
Is "yard apes" a racist slur? Did it in fact originate in slave days?
Has it morphed into a generic term for young children -- like "rug rats" and "crumb crushers"? Was this the way this woman was using the term?
Discuss.
Greenville Tech official resigns over remark
Official twice used racial slur to refer to Katrina evacuees
Posted Wednesday, September 14, 2005 - 4:34 pm
By Ben Szobody
STAFF WRITER
bszobody@greenvillenews.com
A Greenville Technical College official who twice referred to New Orleans evacuees in Greenville as "yard apes" has resigned, school officials said.
"She's not a member of this institution today," said president Tom Barton. "Too much damage had been done."
Renee Holcombe, formerly an associate vice president for student services with a staff of about 40, told employees in two separate briefings last week that the school's aid for the mostly black hurricane victims staying at the Palmetto Expo Center would include sending yellow buses to pick up the "yard apes," said Barton and senior vice president Ben Dillard...
Reached at her home this afternoon, Holcombe said she was "numb and shocked." She declined further comment.
