Racist Republican Sworn in Amid Protest: Commisioner said "Blacks live in a moral sewer"
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina commissioner Bill James, Republican, was booed as he took his oath of office yesterday. James said last week in an e-mail to constituents, "Most people know why CMS (Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools) can't teach kids within the urban black community. They live in a moral sewer with parents who lack the desire to act properly. That immorality impacts negatively the lives of these children and creates an environment where education is considered 'acting white' and lack of education is a 'plus' in their world." More than 400 people packed the swearing-in ceremony including many groups from the black community and local black churches. Many of those sat in the balcony with posters denouncing racism. Democrat Parks Helms, who was chosen as chairman, asked the audience to welcome James' family, and they applauded. When James began to introduce his children, someone called out, "What about our children?" James said he believed problems in urban black neighborhoods could be traced to a high percentage of single-parent families and illegitimate births, and quoted from a book on black families by the late Democratic Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan. Later, he quoted from the Bible, Galatians 4:16. "Am I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?" he asked, to groans from the audience. When he said, "The real cause of trouble in the black community is not so much segregation, or lack of voting power," someone in the crowd interrupted by yelling "its people like you!" Helms repeatedly tried to silence the crowd. When James finished, he reminded them that James was allowed "that kind of speech," and "it's up to us to hear it and move on." James, a Republican, represents a district in south Mecklenburg and was unopposed in his bid for a fifth term last month. [more] and [more]