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Texas teacher resigns over Ferguson tweet

Marjorie Owens
WFAA-TV, Dallas-Fort Worth

DUNCANVILLE, Texas — A Duncanville teacher has resigned less than a week after a tweet she wrote spurred accusations of racism.

Vinita Hedwood, who taught English, announced her resignation in a statement released Thursday afternoon by the Texas American Federation of Teachers.

In the statement, Hedgewood said her tweet was a reaction to "a series of threatening and racist attacks" made toward her on Twitter during a debate over the controversy involving the shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a Ferguson, Mo., police officer.

"My reaction in no way reflects the standards to which I have held myself and my students for the last 20 years of teaching," she wrote. "I accept full responsibility for my actions, and I regret the embarrassment that it has caused the school district."

The tweet was written last week and sent from her personal Twitter account.

"Who the (expletive) made you dumb duck (expletive) crackers think I give a squat (expletive) about your opinions about my opinions RE: Ferguson? Kill yourselves," the tweet read.

On Monday, the Duncanville Independent School District placed Hedgewood on administrative leave without pay.

The controversial tweet, posted Friday, Nov. 7, 2014, from Duncanville High School teacher Vinita Hegwood has since been taken down and the account has been closed.
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