Lowell School Committee Member Who Used Anti-Semitic Slur Resigns

LOWELL, MA — A member of the Lowell School Committee resigned Friday after using an anti-Semitic slur on a local access show last week. Robert Hoey used the slur on the show "City Life" when referring to the district's former chief financial officer.

"I hate to say it, but that's what people used to say behind his back," Hoey said after using the slur.

The 66-year-old announced his resignation in a Facebook Live video, standing between two rocks, which he said signified that he was "between a rock and a hard place."

"If you don’t condemn the word I said, then shame on you," Hoey said. He apologized to the former Lowell Public Schools employee and said he will "never say those words again after this."

The use of the slur drew widespread condemnation. Lowell Mayor John Leahy said he "couldn't believe that came out of [Hoey's] mouth." Superintendent of Schools Joel Boyd received Hoey's resignation Friday and recommended that Leahy accept it immediately.

"A dehumanizing anti-Semitic slur like this is not only deeply offensive to members of the Jewish community, it is damaging to members of all communities, particularly those who have been similarly targeted," Boyd said.

Hoey's resignation is "a critical first step, but does not solve the deeply rooted issues of bigotry and systematic racism in our community," Boyd added.

Hoey, a retired corrections officer, said he fought for race relations in policing during an unsuccessful bid for City Council decades ago. He cried as he discussed his time on the School Committee.

"We can't be saying the k-words, the n-words, the s-words, the h-words. We just can't be doing it no more," Hoey said.