Alabama Democratic Party vice chairman Tabitha Isner has taken the stance that the confrontation between two State Representatives, in which a Democratic lawmaker alluded to a GOP lawmaker as an “N-word,” would wisely be left unaddressed by white people.
On Thursday, 1819 News detailed an exchange between State Rep. Juandalynn Givan (D-Birmingham) and State Rep. Kenneth Paschal (R-Pelham) in which she referred to Paschal as an “N-word” by referencing a Jay-Z song.
In the aftermath, The Alabama GOP (ALGOP) requested an apology from Givan, to which she issued a scathing response demanding an apology in turn for ALGOP's "misrepresentation of her comments."
Rather than demanding an apology, Paschal remained resolute, stating, "No person should have their race or skin color questioned or attacked simply because they choose to think for themselves."
While Democratic leadership in the House has been silent on the issue, Isner took to social media to both defend the right of blacks to use the term amongst themselves and to opine that the "wise" option is for white people to remain silent.
When black people have a fight about blackness (and especially when it includes that word), I find the wise thing to do is to mind my own business.
— Tabitha Isner (@TabithaK) May 4, 2023
She also has lambasted those who point to observed hypocrisy on behalf of Givan, who found the flippant brandying about of the racial epithet displayed a double standard.
You might not know this, but that is a word that can be used between black people. It cannot be used appropriately by non-black people. Why do they get to use it and we don't? Because hundreds of years of slavery and Jim Crow earned them the right.
— Tabitha Isner (@TabithaK) May 4, 2023
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email craig.monger@1819news.com.
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