A Florida councilman who used the N-word while talking about Trump voters and racism in law enforcement is now drawing backlash for his remarks that community members say crossed a line.
Anders Urbom, a councilman in the Miami suburb of El Portal, made the comments at a recent planning and zoning meeting, CBS News reported.
During the meeting, he raised concerns that Border Patrol agents might be conducting unnecessary traffic stops in the area.
“It just seemed odd that a CPB officer was doing a traffic stop,” Urbom said of a traffic stop he witnessed.
He then used that point to segue into a brief rant about race relations and people who voted to elect Donald Trump as president.
He continued: “Guys, I don’t know how to tell you this, so I’m just going to tell you like this. Explain to you exactly why every white person in this country who voted for Trump is a racist piece of sh-t. I’m going to tell you that right now. How do you wink at a n****r?” Urbom said to audible gasps from crowd members.
“How do you wink at a n****r?” he repeated, while making a gesture as if he was looking through the barrel of a gun with one eye. “I learned that from a 10-year-old-son of a police detective in my hometown growing up. His father, a police detective. His best friend, another f***ing police detective.”
Vice Mayor Darian Martin immediately responded to Urbom’s remarks.
“I do understand that you’re trying to make a point, but even in trying to make a point, I do think it is a grossly offensive word to be mentioned in any context,” she said, adding that she understood Urbom was trying to make a statement even if it wasn’t clearly articulated. “I share some of those feelings about what is going on in the greater world. I do say, I do say that as a white man, you should not be saying the n-word in any context, and I take great offense to it.”
Marian called for an apology, which Urbom made during the meeting.
“I will certainly apologize. I mean no offense to anyone other than white Christians who voted for Trump,” Urbom said.
Residents who saw footage of the meeting believe Urbom could have reined in his remarks.
“I don’t see how (Urbom’s apology) makes it any better,” one El Portal resident said. “I mean, if you’re offending, it doesn’t matter what group of folks we’re talking about. We all need to be kinder and trying to not be offensive.”
“I don’t want to hear what he attempted to say,” another added. “Once he started using language like that, I’ll walk away. I’ll put some earplugs in my ears.”
Councilman Urbom later said that he understands the impact he made by using the slur and doesn’t plan to use it again, but he believed that it would drive home his point.
“I acknowledge that the words that I used go beyond just anger or offense, but for that many people, it is outright traumatic,” he said. “I will absolutely stand behind every single thing I said as a political statement. One hundred percent.”
