Alabama councilman, 76, refuses to apologize for using N-word during public meeting and says he was simply repeating what he heard town’s black mayor say
- Tarrant City Council member Tommy Bryant used the N-word during a public session held in the city Monday night.
- He is refusing to apologize and says he was repeating what he heard the town’s black mayor say about fellow council member Veronica Freeman
- Tarrant’s Mayor has denied ever using the racial epithet against Freeman
An Alabama councilman is refusing to apologize after he was caught on camera using the n-word during a local government meeting.
Tarrant City Council member Tommy Bryant deployed the racist epithet during a public session held in the city Monday night.
Video from the meeting shows Bryant, 76, standing up and stating: ‘Do we have a house n****r in here?’. He was purportedly referring to black female council member, Veronica Freeman.
However, on Wednesday, the veteran councilman told local news outlets that he would not say sorry and that his words had been taken out of context.
Bryant claimed that he was only repeating what he had heard the city’s black mayor, Wayman Newton, say about Freeman.
He also claimed that he and Freeman were allies and that they had been working together in recent months to block proposals that Newton has initiated.
‘I did what needed to be done. It needed to be brought to light what kind of a person the mayor is,’ Bryant told WVTM-TV.
Bryant (left) claimed that he was only repeating what he had heard the city’s black mayor, Wayman Newton (right) say
Newton – a black Republican – has denied ever using the slur against Freeman.
‘They are trying to expose me for saying something I did not say,’ Newton told AL.com. ‘All of that was a political stunt that they did not do very well.’
He added: ‘Veronica [Freeman] and Tommy [Bryant], they’ve basically been working against me since I got in office’.
Freeman even purportedly threatened to sue Newton for racial discrimination.
However, the mayor says he has never uttered the n-word.
‘I never used that phrase to speak about her,’ Newton said. ‘Ask them to produce the video. They record everything. They should have their own recording. They want me out. He [Bryant] wants to run for mayor.’
Tarrant City Council member Tommy Bryant is refusing to apologize after he used the n-word on camera during a local government meeting on Monday night
The Mayor has denied using the racist epithet against council member Veronica Freeman. She has purportedly been blocking several of his recent proposals
Freeman has not commented on Bryant repeating the racial slur during the council meeting.
However, Alabama’s Democratic Party have called upon Bryant to resign. Alabama’s GOP has released a statement saying the remark is ‘completely unacceptable.’
But Bryant says he is refusing to budge and insists he is not racist.
‘What a lot of the public’s definition is, I might be a racist. But according to what the true definition of a racist is, absolutely not,’ he stated.
Tarrant, which adjoins the city of Birmingham, has a population of about 6,100 and is about 53 percent black, census statistics show.
Alabama’s Democratic Party has called upon Bryant to resign. Alabama’s GOP has released a statement saying the remark is ‘completely unacceptable’
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