Pamela Ramsay Taylor was the director of Clay County Development Corp, a West Virginian non-profit. Then she called Michelle Obama “an ape in heels.” She was fired. She was reinstated. Now she’s fired. Or is she?! Yes, ok, this time she is.
Taylor drew attention her way when she celebrated the election of Donald Trump and the beginning of Melania’s reign as First Lady by sharing this message on Facebook: “It will be so refreshing to have a classy, beautiful, dignified First Lady back in the White House. I’m tired of seeing an ape in heels.”
Little did she know that Melania would actually be staying at Trump Tower, and that being a racist garbage troll on social media can have consequences—and what a roller coaster those consequences have been. At the time of Taylor’s post, the Mayor of Clay County, Beverly Whaling, cheerfully commented that Taylor’s racism “made her day,” and has subsequently resigned herself. Nonetheless, plans to quietly reinstate Taylor at CCDC on December 23 were leaked.
Yahoo News reports that at least one person in a position of authority recognized that racist is as racist tweets, and West Virginia reviewed their contracts with the non-profit, which is dependent on government money. State officials say the organization has been put on out-of-state-management, and Taylor is most definitely gone for good:
Democratic Governor Earl Ray Tomblin’s office said the state had secured an agreement under which the Appalachian Area Agency on Aging will manage the CCDC for six months.
“Following the state’s request for specific assurances that the CCDC is following anti-discrimination policies, we have been assured that Pamela Taylor has been removed from her position as CCDC director,” Tomblin’s office said in a statement.
This time it’ll apparently stick.