Monday, May 2, 2011

Kern's remarks stirs debate on issue

Tulsa World
By RANDY KREHBIEL World Staff Writer
Published: 5/1/2011 2:32 AM
Last Modified: 5/1/2011 8:17 AM

Maladroit as it may have been, or maybe because it was, Rep. Sally Kern's 10-minute discourse Wednesday night on race, gender and government lifted the lids from a lot of simmering pots.
"It recapitulates why we need to have this discussion," said Rep. Jabar Shumate, D-Tulsa.
"Our state and our nation are becoming more diverse, and if you're not around people who aren't like yourself, you're more likely to make the kind of statements that Rep. Kern did."
Shumate, a black man representing a predominantly black district north of downtown Tulsa, said Kern's derogatory statements about minorities and women as she argued against affirmative action reflects "a case of honest ignorance."
"I would be the last person to call someone racist," he said. "I don't use the word. I would say a big part of this issue is based on a lack of information."

Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20110501_16_A1_CUTLIN20948

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