Black civil-rights activists canceled plans for a protest after discovering a child insulted by California Education Secretary Richard Riordan was not African-American as originally believed, but a blonde, white girl. In an incident captured on video, Riordan, the former Los Angeles mayor, stunned participants in a promotional event July 1 at the Santa Barbara library by jokingly telling a 6-year-old her name, Isis, meant "stupid dirty girl."
| Ummm... Richard? Isis was an Egyptian goddess. Does Riordan mean "stupid ignorant man"? |
Alice Huffman, president of the California chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said Thursday that Riordan "is not suitable to lead education in our state" and should be removed. Democratic state Assemblyman Mervyn Dymally called on Riordan to step down, telling the San Jose Mercury News the child was a "little African-American girl." "Would he (Riordan) have done that to a white girl?" Dymally asked.
But the lawmaker reversed himself and canceled a planned civil-rights demonstration after finding out the girl is white.
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