Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez resigned Monday after she and two other councilors were recorded making racist comments.
The latest: Los Angeles County Federation of Labor President Ron Herrera tendered his resignation Monday night over his involvement in racist talk, according to the Los Angeles Times.
- He resigned at a meeting of the labor organization’s executive board, California Federation of Labor head Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher told the New York Times.
Leading the news: In a statement announcing his resignation, Martínez apologized “to my colleagues and the residents of this city that I love so much.”
- “At the end of the day, it’s not my apologies that matter most; it’s the actions I take from this day forward. I hope I’ll be given the opportunity to make amends. So, effective immediately, I’m resigning as president of the City of Los Angeles,” the statement continued.
- The California and Los Angeles branches of the NAACP demanded Sunday afternoon that Martinez and others resign after the Los Angeles Times reported that he called a black child a monkey.
- NAACP chapters also called on councilors Gil Cedillo, Kevin de León and Herrera to resign for participating in a discussion with anti-black and anti-indigenous comments.
Details: Martinez referred to a white councilman’s son, who is black, as “ese changuito” or that little monkey, during a Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade, according to leaked audio of a conversation by almost a year
- Martinez also said the counselor, Mike Bonin, treated her son like he was a “prop.” He also referred to Bonin as a “little whore.”
- Herrera suggested that Bonin have his young son out in public as a lawn jockey, the racist statues used to invoke the antebellum South.
Martinez is also heard making fun of the indigenous people of the Mexican state of Oaxaca, who have migrated to Los Angeles.
- She referred to them as “short dark people” and called them “ugly”.
What they’re saying: “This kind of overt racism has no place in political discourse,” Rick L. Callender, president of the CA/HI State Conference of the NAACP, said in a statement.
- “We know clearly where your heart and mind are, and both are corroded by the rust of racism and hatred.”
Meanwhile, Los Angles Gold Award-winning chef, restaurateur Bricia Lopez joined the calls for her resignation on social media.
- The words of mouth (of Nury Martínez) cut deep in the Oaxacan community of LA. I’ve dealt with my fair share of racism. But it’s ten times worse when it comes from a brown woman. Girl you need to resign,” she tweeted.
Push away: The secretly recorded conversation revolved around councilors’ frustration that the growing Latino population wasn’t leading to more Latino council districts and concerns that black leaders would keep some black-majority ones.
- Martinez, De Leon and Herrera have issued statements apologizing for their role in the conversation. Cedillo told the Los Angeles Times that he did not remember the argument.
Of note: Protesters demonstrated outside Martinez’s home and played portions of the audio recording Sunday. Los Angeles police were later seen in a video shared on social media trying to move the crowd away from his home.
- More protests were organized on Monday, with images shared on social media showing demonstrations outside León’s home.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with a statement from Martinez confirming his resignation and details of further protests. The headline has also been updated.