Professor James Livingston will get to keep his job at Rutgers University, and will not be disciplined for racial discrimination.
Livingston embarked on a viralĀ racist Facebook rantĀ in June against white children and their parents after visiting New York City's Harlem Shake on May 31.
What's the history?
After Livingtonās remarks were read across the web, the universityĀ announcedĀ it would launch an investigation into the professor and his inflammatory commentary.
In August, Rutgers found Livingston guilty of violating the universityāsĀ Policy Prohibiting Discrimination and HarassmentĀ with his Facebook remarks.
Livingston appealed the finding, but the university initiallyĀ rejected the professorās appeal and charged him with racial discrimination.
A Thursday news release from FIRE ā the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education ā revealed that the university does not believe that Livingston's remarks were racist and reversed the charge of racial discrimination.
After Livingston appealed the university's decision, FIRE wrote a letter to the school's president, whoĀ called for review of the school's findings.
So what's being said now?
Marieke Tuthill Beck-Coon, FIRE's director of litigation, told TheBlaze, "FIRE is pleased that Rutgers did the right thing and reversed the charge of racial discrimination against Professor Livingston. Any other result would have undermined the free speech and academic freedom rights of all Rutgers faculty members."
In a statement, Livingston expressed his gratitude for the university's reversal.
āIām relieved that my right to free speech and my academic freedom have been validated by this retraction, thanks to FIRE, the AAUP, and colleagues, who made this strange episode an issue to be debated and decided in public,ā Livingston's statement read. āBut if I may use the occasion to preach ... As a tenured professor, I have resources and protections that are unavailable to most employees. That is not just unfortunate, it is simply wrong, and needs redressing. Would [sic] that FIRE could represent all of us on the job.ā
According to the organization's website, FIRE is a "nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to defending and sustaining the individual rights of students and faculty members at Americaās colleges and universities."