Alabama councilman who blurted racial slur at meeting won’t resign. ‘Absolutely not’
An Alabama city councilman is facing mounting calls for his resignation he referred to a fellow council member using a racial slur.
Tarrant City Councilman John “Tommy” Bryant says he isn’t going anywhere, however.
“Absolutely not,” Bryant said amid calls for him to step down, WIAT reported. “I may even consider running for mayor next time.”
The Republican lawmaker said he was only repeating language used by Mayor Wayman Newton, the city’s first Black mayor who allegedly used the slur to refer to Councilwoman Veronica Freeman, who’s also Black, according to AL.com. Newton has denied the accusations.
“They are trying to expose me for saying something I did not say,” the mayor told the newspaper on Wednesday. “All of that was a political stunt that they did not do very well.”
Bryant’s outburst drew audible gasps from attendees of Monday’s city council meeting, which was recorded. (Warning: video contains strong language.)
“Hey, do we have a house n----- in here?” Bryant stands and asks before gesturing toward Freeman, according to videos posted online. “Do we? Do we? Would she please stand up?”
“Y’all are seeing this, right?” someone off camera says.
Bryant’s remarks drew immediate backlash among residents and public officials pushing for him to step down.
“We were astonished,” Tarrant resident Waynette Bonham told WIAT. “No one left, because we were actually very very in shock as to what he said. “I think he should resign because he was way too comfortable standing up and using that word in front of a group of people of color.”
The Alabama Democratic Party blasted Bryant a “racist” who’s “unfit to serve,” and called on state officials to force his resignation.
“Alabama still has a long way to go when it comes to race,” the party’s executive director Wade F. Perry said in a statement, “but cozying up to the KKK and using the N word should make you unfit to serve. These racists belong in the history books with Bull Connor and George Wallace, not on the taxpayer’s payroll.”
John Wall, chairman of the Alabama Republican Party, said he was “deeply troubled by the racially charged outburst, and disrespect” shown by the councilman at Monday’s meeting, WIAT reported.
The Alabama NAACP said it also plans to address the incident, calling Bryant’s behavior “racist, reprehensible and insulting.”
Bryant argued that his use of the slur was different from how Mayor Newton allegedly used it against Freeman.
“He said it in a derogatory manner, I said it so people would know what the mayor said,” he said, according to AL.com. “The mayor was being derogatory toward Veronica Freeman when he said that.”
When asked if he would change how he handled the situation, Bryant said he wouldn’t.
“I did what needed to be done,” he told WVTM.
Tarrant is a city less than 10 miles northeast of Birmingham.
This story was originally published July 21, 2021 at 9:12 AM with the headline "Alabama councilman who blurted racial slur at meeting won’t resign. ‘Absolutely not’."