Racist remarks left on pastor’s voicemail amplify our need to talk, not whisper
As we publicly condemn Michigan
City Mayor Duane Parry, we should also privately thank him for saying racially charged comments in a voicemail for a Black pastor.
“They want a (expletive) audience. These Black guys … they all want a (expletive) audience all the time,” Parry is heard saying on the recording after he thought he had hung up his phone.
Parry left this voicemail recently for Pastor James Lane, who is Black, from Pleasant Hill Missionary Baptist Church in Michigan City.
There have since been demands for Parry’s resignation and for a public apology. He hasn’t stepped down as mayor, but he has apologized, saying, “My words now cannot change what I said. However, my future actions can and will.”
Will this be enough for his critics? Are his words backed by true remorse and a determined commitment for personal change? We have no idea. However, I’m convinced of two things: Parry from now on will double check every time he thinks he “hung up” his phone; and he will not verbalize such racist or bigoted thoughts even though he will likely continue to
think them.
This is the reality of that situation, and this is the reality of race relations in our country.
Parry’s remarks on that voicemail serve as yet another reminder that racism and prejudice — even in the subtlest of forms —
are still in the thoughts of too many Americans. As well as too many government leaders who represent their constituents in many ways we wish they didn’t.
“I ask for your forgiveness,” Parry said in
a public statement.
This isn’t about forgiveness for the rest of us, I say. It’s about acknowledging what Parry said on that voicemail and admitting that many of us have thought or said similar remarks about “those people.” Those people, of course, are anyone who don’t resemble us — white, Black, Hispanic, Asian, Middle Eastern, it’s a long list, as we know.
Fortunately, our thoughts are not played over loudspeakers at a public protest like Parry’s voicemail remarks during a demonstration rally outside City Hall on Tuesday. The next day, Parry apologized during a news conference.
“I cannot say the words to express my regret during the past week,” he said outside City Hall.
What if instead of saying on that voicemail, “These Black guys …” Parry said, “These clergy guys …” or “These religious guys …”? Would there be the same outrage, or calls for a public apology and demands for his resignation? Probably not. Persecuting Christians is more tolerated than disparaging the Black community these days.
I’m not Christian or Black so I’ve never been attacked or offended for
either reason. But such a contrarian reaction to this incident is an aspect that could also be addressed. I’ve already heard rumblings from the religious right, so this will be a topic for another column.
Racism, in its many forms, is an even more sensitive subject in the wake of 2020, which yanked off a scab of sins in our nation. Racism is less overt and more overheard in most of our communities. This is why Parry’s remarks perfectly illustrate our difficult challenge. It’s easier to condemn blatant racism than it is to correct subtle racism.
“Subtle racism is just as injurious as overt racism,” Vernon Williams told me during a Zoom program designed to explore such touchy topics.
Williams, who is Black, reminded me that racial prejudice and hateful bigotry is not a new phenomenon. Last year’s race-related incidents and subsequent protests amplified thoughts and feelings that have played like a broken record through the decades.
“The events of 2020 shoved it all into center stage, ready or not,” said Williams, a Chicago/Gary Crusader columnist. “The subtleties of racism and bigotry gnaw at the nerve of those people who want justice.”
Chuck Hughes, president
and CEO of the Gary Chamber of Commerce, is one of these people, a victim of subtle and overt racism his entire life. Even as a respected, prominent official, he has been mistreated simply because he is Black, he said. He mentioned on the program one such instance when he was refused entry into a club, not in Gary, because he wasn’t the right color of skin. He was wrongly accused at the door of smelling like alcohol.
“Anyone who knows me knows the strongest thing I drink is Diet Coke,” Hughes said.
He later called the Indiana Civil Rights Commission to file a complaint. Hughes shared this story on his Zoom podcasttype program called
“Lake Effect: Beyond the Headlines,” inviting me to be a guest commentator. The program tackles newsy topics that explore complex issues, such as the daily subtleties of racism and bigotry.
“There are important issues and actions impacting the lives of people all over this country. Northwest Indiana is the place where I live and work. We are not exempt,” Hughes said. “Someone has to step up and be the conversation starter, so I chose to do so.”
The first 30-minute episode of “Lake Effect: Beyond the Headlines” shares the viewpoints of
Hughes, Williams, myself, and Marc Chase, executive editor of The Times newspaper. Four guys — two white, two Black. Four different backgrounds. Four differing perspectives on race with more than 200-plus years of collective experiences, conflicting opinions, and implicit biases.
“I thought it was important that people would not simply hear my voice,” Hughes said. “There are some tough questions to be asked. Some sensitive issues to be discussed. And some truths to be met head on.”
Hughes insists this program will not be just another roundtable discussion, or community forum or corporate initiative.
It will be a civil yet candid conversation for a “hot 30 minutes” and he welcomes viewers’ opinions and experiences. Watch the first episode Monday morning on the Gary Chamber of Commerce website, at www.GaryChamber.com, or on my Facebook page, https://www.facebook. com/TalkingPointsWithJerryDavich/.
“Hopefully this will serve as the impetus to get Northwest Indiana talking,” Hughes said.
And by “talking,” he means not accidentally on voicemails.