Tarrant, Alabama Republican city councilman Tommy Bryant is under fire after standing up during Monday night’s meeting and asking, “Do we have a house n***er in here? Do we? Do we? Would she please stand up?”
Bryant was referring to fellow city council member Veronica Freeman, and claims he was just repeating what Tarrant Mayor Wayman Newton, the city’s first Black mayor, had called her, AL.com reports.
Alabama Democratic Party executive director Wade Perry is calling Bryant “a racist unfit to serve,” and demanding he resign.
“Alabama still has a long way to go when it comes to race, but cozying up to the KKK and using the N word should make you unfit to serve,” Perry said in a statement. “These racists belong in the history books with Bull Connor and George Wallace, not on the taxpayer’s payroll.”
Even the Alabama Republican Party’s Chairman, John Wahl, denounced Bryant’s racist remarks, calling them “completely unacceptable in any setting.”
“The Alabama Republican Party is deeply troubled by the racially charged outburst and disrespect shown by Councilman Tommy Bryant. Such language is completely unacceptable in any setting, and even more concerning coming from an elected official.”
Bama Politics adds that “Bryant has been defiant since his outburst, refusing to resign and saying that he now plans to run for Mayor instead.”