A college student in Alabama has been expelled from her school and sorority after posting multiple racist videos on the day honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Harley Barber, a now-former student at the University of Alabama, was removed from the university and kicked out of Alpha Phi sorority after she posted two videos using racial slurs toward African Americans to her secret Instagram account.
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The 19-year-old from Marlton, New Jersey, first shared a video to her “finsta” (fake Instagram) account of herself turning off running water in a bathroom.
“We do not waste water,” Barber said in the video. “We don’t waste water because of people in Syria. I love how I act like I love black people because I f—ing hate n—s. So, that’s really interesting — I f—ing hate n—s, but I just saved the f— n—s by shutting that water off.”
After posting the video filled with racial slurs, Barber was swiftly criticized by her followers, which compelled her to release a second video filled with even more racial slurs to respond to the backlash.
She did not apologize but instead argued why she should be able to say the N-word, even, as she pointed out, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
“I’ve wanted to be in Alpha Phi since f—ing high school and nobody f—ing understands how much I love Alpha Phi,” Barber says, staring directly at the camera. “And now someone wants to save my finsta because I said n—? You know what? N—, n—, n—. I don’t care if it’s Martin Luther King Day.”
One voice can be heard off-camera suggesting that Barber not post the video, but she continued.
“I’m in the South now, b—,” Barber continued. “So everyone can f— off. I’m from New Jersey, so I can say n— as much as I want.”
The tweet caught the attention of Alabama running back Damien Harris, who retweeted a post featuring Barber’s original video.
“This girl goes to the same university as me but they say, ‘racism is dead.’ Unfortunately, this thread says the opposite,” Harris tweeted.
This girl goes to the same university as me but they say, “racism is dead.” Unfortunately, this thread says the opposite. https://t.co/OaYeCVEGUQ
— Damien Harris (@DHx34) January 16, 2018
On Wednesday, University of Alabama president, Stuart Bell, released a statement on the school’s website that addressed the “racist and disturbing” videos.
A message from UA President Stuart Bell: https://t.co/xr47RcBcrM pic.twitter.com/2GtDNCzR7n
— The Univ. of Alabama (@UofAlabama) January 17, 2018
“I find the videos highly offensive and deeply hurtful, not only to our students and our entire University community, but to everyone who viewed them,” Bell said. “We hold our students to much higher standards, and we apologize to everyone who has seen the videos and been hurt by this hateful, ignorant and offensive behavior.
The Tuscaloosa university said Barber is no longer enrolled at the school, and the Alpha Phi sorority confirmed she was removed as a member. In an interview with the New York Post published on Wednesday, Barber said she is in the process of moving back to New Jersey from Alabama.
“I did something really, really bad,” Barber told the publication. “I don’t know what to do and I feel horrible. I’m wrong and there’s just no excuse for what I did.”
Though one of her friends was captured on film advising her not to post the videos, Barber says she didn’t consider her advice.
“No, I’m an idiot,” she told The Post. “There’s no excuse. I did something really bad.”
