Carter apologizes to black colleague over remark
Republican promises racial reconciliation after fried chicken ‘joke’
NASHVILLE — Rep. Mike Carter on Monday apologized to a black colleague before the Tennessee House on Monday evening after joking earlier during a subcommittee hearing that the representative — whom Carter unsuccessfully tried to call on to speak — was evidently “getting the secret formula to Kentucky Fried Chicken and pretty concentrated on that.”
Hours later on the chamber floor, Carter, R-Ooltewah, who is white and chairman of the House Civil Justice Subcommittee, asked to speak from the well of the Republican-led House chamber’s floor, where members typically present bills. Public apologies there are rare.
“Thank you for allowing me to address the body and to my friend Joe Towns of Memphis,” said Carter, an attorney and former Hamilton County judge. “Today, earlier in a committee meeting, I said something stupid. Foot in mouth disease, I suppose. I made an inappropriate and deeply regretful comment that hurt my friend Joe’s feelings.
“I am never as hurt,” Carter said, his voice breaking, “as when I hurt someone else. I hurt him, and I hurt every member of this House with my comment. Joe, Rep. Towns, Joe if I may, I sincerely apologize to you and all of my colleagues. And more importantly, to the citizens of Tennessee.”
“Joe if I may, I sincerely apologize to you and all of my colleagues. And more importantly, to the citizens of Tennessee.”
– STATE REP. MIKE CARTER, R-OOLTEWAH
Carter told Towns that “I look forward to working with you in the future to accomplish great things for the people of Tennessee. And and I look forward to working with you on any issues of racial reconciliation.”
The apology came as mass protests have swept Tennessee and much of the nation over the May 25 death in Minneapolis of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, who died after a white police officer knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes while Floyd was handcuffed face down on the street.
A Democrat who took part in one of Nashville’s demonstrations last week, Towns told Carter, “I appreciate you being man enough to come before this body and the people that are here in the listening audience, especially young children and African American people, to see exactly how you rectify certain things.
“Historically in our country we’ve had a lot of problems,” Towns continued. “Today is a topsy turvy kind of a day and there’s much going on in this country, and there’s so much going on here last week in the march that some of us participated in. And it’s very critical that we have to mind our words as it relates to women and children and ethnic groups that have been maligned over a period of time.”
Noting that he himself is a “Class A ribber,” Towns said, “The fact of it is that we have to be sensitive to each other. And what this country needs right now, judge, white men and black men, to get it together. Do you all understand me? White men and black men to get it together. America’s not perfect, but right now it’s the best thing we got going. And it’s up to guys like you and me to get it together, to set the example.”
Towns said, “If you can’t get it together, and I can’t get it together, we’re in a world of hurt. Because these are some of our better minds.”
He also said, “We’re going to have to work on this sensitivity and legislatively move us forward, not only on economic things, and get to know each other.”
Towns said “fortunately” he didn’t hear Carter’s remark, noting, “I guess I was talking to one of the other representatives, and it may have been good that I didn’t hear it. But standing before this body, trying to make it right, we’ll have an opportunity to do some other things to make it right. We’re going to keep it right.”
The Memphis lawmaker ending by saying, “You’ve got to have courage to fix some of these problems. And we’ll meet you halfway. We’ll follow up, try to work on things as you promised and try to make some things better in this House, not just for me, for this community, meaning statewide.”