President Biden joins calls for city officials to resign over anti-Indigenous racism

Indianz.Com > News > President Biden joins calls for city officials to resign over anti-Indigenous racism

Indianz.Com Video: ‘They all must resign’: City council member Mitch O’Farrell – Full Remarks – October 11, 2022

Wednesday, October 12, 2022

Indianz.Com

President Joe Biden has joined national-level politicians in seeking the resignations of city officials in California who made racist and offensive statements about Indigenous people.

“He believes that they all should resign,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said of Nury Martinez, Gil Cedillo and Kevin de León, three members of the city council in Los Angeles who were caught on a recording making disparaging remarks about Indigenous people, African Americans and members of the LGBTQ community.

“The language that was used and tolerated during that conversation was unacceptable and it was appalling. They should all step down,” Jean-Pierre said at a press briefing on Tuesday.

Indianz.Com Audio: 'They should all resign': President Biden on anti-Indigenous racism

Jean-Pierre spoke after a member of the news media asked about Biden’s record of condemning racism in America. She said the president seeks to hold all politicians accountable, even if they are Democrats like the three council members in Los Angeles.

“Here’s the difference between Democrats and MAGA Republicans,” she said, associating the Republican Party with the “Make America Great Again” slogan made popular by former president Donald Trump.

“When a Democrat says something racist or anti-Semitic, we would — we hold them — we hold Democrats accountable. When a MAGA Republican says something racist or anti-Semitic, they are embraced by cheering crowds and become celebrated and sought-after endorsements,” Jean-Pierre said.

My statement regarding the recording released yesterday. pic.twitter.com/U1SinhCuIi
— Alex Padilla (@AlexPadilla4CA) October 10, 2022

Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California), another national-level politicians, condemned the remarks as well. He previously served on the city council in Los Angeles, whose Indigenous population was ridiculed in a conversation between Martinez, Cedillo and de León.

“At a time when our nation is grappling with a rise in hate speech and hate crimes, these racist comments have deepened the pain that our communities have endured,” said Padilla, who is running for a full term in the U.S. Senate. “Los Angeles deserves better.”

Martinez has stepped down from her role as president of the city council. But she remains in office, as do Cedillo and de León, whose conversation also included racist remarks about the African American child of a colleague who is part of the LGBTQ community.

Mitch O’Farrell, the first and only Native member of the city council, has been calling for the resignations of his three colleagues since Monday, when Los Angeles observed Indigenous Peoples’ Day, a holiday he helped designate. He followed up at regularly scheduled session on Tuesday

“I do not believe we can have the healing that is necessary, or govern as we need to, while council members Martinez, de León and Cedillo remain as members of this council,” O’Farrell said at the meeting as he served as temporary president of the legislative body in Los Angeles.

“The court of public opinion has rendered a verdict, and the verdict is they all must resign,” O’Farrell, a citizen of the Wyandotte Nation, said to cheers from the audience at city hall.

Related Stories