Fraternity has been suspended after video surfaces showing some of its members mocking slavery and using a racial slur

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

A University of Georgia fraternity is being investigated over a video which circulated on social media and showed some of its members mocking slavery and using a racial slur.

The video shows a student hitting another with a belt while saying the words “Pick my cotton” and then a racial slur.

The UG Student Government Association said in a statement on Friday it was aware of the video of students “using racist language and engaging in behaviors that mock the suffering of enslaved peoples”.

The university said on Twitter the fraternity had been suspended by its national organization, and added: “The University of Georgia condemns racism in the strongest terms. Racism has no place in our campus.”

The national chapter for the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity said it was “disgusted, appalled and angered”.

“TKE will not tolerate any actions such as these that would be defined as racist, discriminatory and/or offensive,” the organization said, adding that the members in the video were not on chapter premises when the incident happened and were not taking part in a fraternity function.