ATLANTA — A man was fired from his job after posting a photo and racially-charged comments to Facebook.
WAGA-TV reports Gerod Roth posted a photo with his co-worker’s son to the social media site, and Roth’s Facebook friends made several racist comments on the photo that has since gone viral.
Sydney Shelton, a single mother to 3-year-old Cayden Jenkins, says she brings her child to her job after he gets out of school, and that she was unaware that Roth took a picture with her son. Roth told WAGA he didn’t think Shelton would mind.
Shelton tells WAGA she was heartbroken to read the comments on Roth’s Facebook post. People called her child “Kunta Kinte” and said they didn’t know Roth was a “slave owner.”
While Roth’s post has been deleted, the social media response continues. Shelton created her own Facebook post about her son with the hashtag #HisNameIsCayden, and the response on social media has been overwhelming.
The Polaris Marketing Group, where Roth worked, confirmed he was fired in a Facebook post Friday:
WAGA reports that Roth has emailed an apology to Shelton, but Shelton has not found the words to respond at this time.
