A Republican congresswoman used a racial slur when addressing her Democratic colleague, Rep. Al Green of Texas, drawing outrage about the use of a term historically hurled by racists in the South when referring to African Americans. The congresswoman also implied the Black lawmaker may have smuggled a gun into the U.S. Capitol building.
U.S. Rep. Diana Harshbarger, R-Tenn., made the remark during an interview with FAME Ministries while criticizing Democrats for protesting President Donald Trump during his joint address to Congress on March 4. Congressman Green, 77, was notably removed from the House floor that night after disrupting Trump’s speech in protest of his administration’s budget cuts.
Recalling Green’s defiant and tense exchange with Trump as he pointed his cane at the 47th president of the United States, Rep. Harshbarger said, “…I’m like gosh dangit boy, put that – he does not need that cane.” She continued, “That cane is a prop. I swear it’s not real. And I’m wondering, one my colleagues said…screw the gold part off of it and see if there’s a gun in there, and I’m like, I don’t know about that, man. He’s just weird Al.”
Harshbarger’s comments were quickly condemned. On Tuesday, Congressman Green held a press conference in his Texas district to condemn the Republican congresswoman. Green made clear that Harshbarger calling him “boy” was not about him as much as it was about “whether Black people in this society are going to allow slurs such as this to be normalized.” He declared, “We cannot allow the normalization of these kinds of slurs.”
Recalling the term’s racist origin, Rep. Green explained, “It was the way society addressed people of color who were of African ancestry at the time. It wasn’t said to indicate that you were youthful. It was said to demean, to degrade, to denigrate. It was said such that you would know your place in society.”
The Texas congressman said he was particularly “sensitive” about the slur used against Black men. Green recalled hearing the term as a child when a police officer called his father “boy” and his mother “girl.”
Green also addressed Harshbarger’s suggestion that his cane may have had a firearm inside it, jokingly saying he was “reluctant” to say that it wasn’t because “there is some degree of safety and knowing that people might not bother to say some things or do some things that are ugly if they think that I may be armed.” He said he was recently confronted by a man while boarding a plane who called him a “bastard.”
After having someone inspect his cane to prove there was no weapon inside it, he explained that his cane is “lawful” and that there is “nothing unlawful about this cane.” He added, “If I don’t have the police with me, then I’m going to have to defend myself.”
In condemning Harshbarger’s use of the term “boy,” Green said, “We cannot allow the normalization of these kinds of slurs,” and decried that a member of Congress would resort to such language. He also blamed President Donald Trump, who “set the tone and tenor.”
As for whether he wants an apology from Harshbarger, Rep. Green said, “I never ask people to apologize. I ask people to tell the truth.” He added, “If you just tell the truth, no apology is necessary.”
Jamarr Brown, executive director at Color of Change PAC and a former executive director for the Texas Democratic Party, said Rep. Harshbarger’s comments were “another example of the blatant disrespect that Black elected officials continue to face, particularly from conservative lawmakers emboldened by Donald Trump’s toxic rhetoric.”
Brown told theGrio, “This incident follows of pattern of targeting Rep. Green, given that he was already censured simply for standing up for the basic human right of healthcare.”
“As a former Executive Director of the Texas Democratic Party, I’ve witnessed firsthand Rep. Green’s deep commitment to his constituents and to justice,” he added. “He deserves to be uplifted for his leadership and conviction, not demeaned by colleagues who routinely ignore the contributions of Black leaders.”
