Behind closed doors lies uncomfortable -- and sometimes scandalous -- truths.
A leaked audio recording of L.A. City Council President Nury Martínez, with Councilmembers Gil Cedillo and Kevin de Leon as well as L.A. County Federation of Labor President, Ron Herrera, revealed racist and crude sentiments. The recording was made about a year ago, but was posted to Reddit and then reported by the L.A. Times yesterday. The group was discussing redrawing council district boundaries and which groups would maintain power and influence.
Martínez is heard on the tape making racist remarks about white Councilman Mike Bonin’s two-year-old adopted Black son.
Martínez, de Leon, Herrera and Cedillo apologized separately on Sunday, and Martínez issued more apologies today as she announced her resignation as Council president. She remains a member of the City Council.
In Green Meadows, South L.A., a small white church stands on a corner of a residential neighborhood. Southside Bethel Baptist Church hosted about 75 people today, who came together to protest the audio -- and the racist sentiments -- they heard from members of the L.A. City Council.
CROWD: Get them out! Get them out! Get them out!
Pumping their fists in the air, the group said Nury Martínez’s resignation from the presidency is not enough. They called for Martínez to either completely resign or be dismissed from her City Council seat.
One by one, leaders and activists got up to speak, including Najee Ali. He directs the grass-roots civil rights organization Project Islamic Hope. He says he’s heard enough from Nury Martínez.
NAJEE ALI: She has failed the city and does not deserve to be in elected office, and that’s why we believe she should step down completely as the Council member.
Martínez was one of the members present during a racist rant that was recently leaked on Reddit. In the recording, she can be heard making malicious statements against fellow Councilmember Mike Bonin’s Black son.
The President of the Los Angeles chapter of the civil rights group National Action Network, Lori Condinus, also decried the racism.
LORI CONDINUS: There are civil servants speaking anti-Blackness and also speaking about suppressing our vote.
The fight for justice is a long one. The President and CEO of the Los Angeles chapter of the Urban League, Michael Lawson, expressed disappointment with persisting racism among people in authority.
MICHAEL LAWSON: We have fought this fight so many times. We did not expect to have to fight the fight with our colleagues, with the people they were working arm in arm with.
Reverend Dr. William Smart is the President and CEO of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Southern California. He echoed the statements made by Lawson, greeting the crowd before speaking out against Martínez’s racist remarks.
REVEREND DR. WILLIAM SMART: We’re here to stand for justice. We’re here to stand for righteousness. We know that Nury Martínez has resigned the presidency, but right now it’s time in L.A. for there to be a new paradigm in leadership. We believe that this leadership needs to be called into accountable. But most importantly, we as a people need to stand up and say, working with African Americans, Latinos and Asian Pacific Islanders, that we are going to move beyond this.
It’s unclear whether or not Martínez will hold her position as an L.A. City Council member, but it’s groups like those at the Southside Bethel Baptist Church that will continue the fight for her removal.
This afternoon, mayoral candidates Karen Bass and Rick Caruso, as well as U.S. Senator Alex Padilla, also called for the dismissal of Councilmembers Martínez, Cedillo and de Leon.