New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) apologized after a video surfaced of him using a racial slur in 2019, calling his comment “inappropriate.”
During a private event in Harlem in December 2019, Adams, who was preparing his run for mayor, said, “Every day in the police department, I kicked those crackers’ ass, man!” according to a video first reported by The Daily News.
Adams, the former captain of the New York City Police Department, went on to talk about the progress he made in the agency with the advocacy group called 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care, a faction he co-founded in the 1990s.
“Man, I was unbelievable in the police department with 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement,” he said, according to The Daily News. “Became a sergeant, a lieutenant, and a captain. You know the story — some people all of a sudden trying to reinvent me. But the reality is what I was then is who I am now,” he added.
When asked about the 2019 remarks on Friday, Adams said he wanted to “definitely apologize,” calling the comments “inappropriate,” according to The Associated Press.
“Inappropriate comments, should not have been used. Someone asked me a question using that comment and playing on that word. I responded in that comment. But clearly, it’s a comment that should not be used and I apologize not only to those who heard it but to New Yorkers because they should expect more from me, and that was inappropriate,” Adams said.
He also said he was referring to his battle against racism while serving in the police department.
“My fight in the police department was fighting racism throughout my entire journey. And I was serious about fighting against that and that is what it was attached to, the question that was asked. And that, you got my response, based on what that question was,” the mayor said.
The term used by Adams, according to the AP, has been considered offensive toward poor Southern white people, though the source of the word is unclear. A report from NPR published in 2013 said the term dated to the age of Shakespeare, and was later used to describe Scots-Irish individuals who arrived in the U.S.
Adams’s apology comes as he is grappling with crime in the city. Two New York City police officers died in a shooting in Harlem when they were responding to a 911 call.
President Biden visited the Big Apple on Thursday to address violent crime.
During a private event in Harlem in December 2019, Adams, who was preparing his run for mayor, said, “Every day in the police department, I kicked those crackers’ ass, man!” according to a video first reported by The Daily News.
Adams, the former captain of the New York City Police Department, went on to talk about the progress he made in the agency with the advocacy group called 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care, a faction he co-founded in the 1990s.
“Man, I was unbelievable in the police department with 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement,” he said, according to The Daily News. “Became a sergeant, a lieutenant, and a captain. You know the story — some people all of a sudden trying to reinvent me. But the reality is what I was then is who I am now,” he added.
When asked about the 2019 remarks on Friday, Adams said he wanted to “definitely apologize,” calling the comments “inappropriate,” according to The Associated Press.
“Inappropriate comments, should not have been used. Someone asked me a question using that comment and playing on that word. I responded in that comment. But clearly, it’s a comment that should not be used and I apologize not only to those who heard it but to New Yorkers because they should expect more from me, and that was inappropriate,” Adams said.
He also said he was referring to his battle against racism while serving in the police department.
“My fight in the police department was fighting racism throughout my entire journey. And I was serious about fighting against that and that is what it was attached to, the question that was asked. And that, you got my response, based on what that question was,” the mayor said.
The term used by Adams, according to the AP, has been considered offensive toward poor Southern white people, though the source of the word is unclear. A report from NPR published in 2013 said the term dated to the age of Shakespeare, and was later used to describe Scots-Irish individuals who arrived in the U.S.
Adams’s apology comes as he is grappling with crime in the city. Two New York City police officers died in a shooting in Harlem when they were responding to a 911 call.
President Biden visited the Big Apple on Thursday to address violent crime.
Adams apologizes for ‘inappropriate’ use of racial slur in 2019
New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) apologized after a video surfaced of him using a racial slur in 2019, calling his comment “inappropriate.”During a private event in Harlem in December 2019, Adams…
thehill.com
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