April 23, 2007

Conference of Mayors President Trenton Mayor Douglas H. Palmer made the following remarks during a keynote address to the annual New Jersey Conference of Mayors meeting April 11-13 in response to remarks by radio talk show host Don Imus:

“With each generation, mayors have a different critical issue that they’re faced with. As mayors today, this is our time to show leadership. Little did I know that just a month after the historic march on Selma, we would be dealing with racial attacks by a famous radio talk show host on young women who should instead be honored as mentors and heroines.

“I’m even more deeply bothered that the recent comments are only dividing us further – particularly during a time when we’re already faced with racial problems and inequities in school funding, and in the way people are investing in our neighborhoods and in our cities.

“If you’re going to be outraged about what Imus said, be outraged about what you hear each and every day in your streets and in your neighborhoods. We have to clean up our own house before we jump on others.

“If it’s wrong for a white man to use racially offensive language, it’s also wrong for a black man to use the ‘N’ word, the ‘B’ word or any other demeaning language. Nobody has the right, regardless of what the color of their skin is, to demean women.

“This is an opportunity for us to take care of our cities and to bring Americans together. We need to be careful not to let this divide us further and instead use this as an opportunity to talk about race and equality. We need to talk to the FCC about what they’re playing on our airwaves, and to talk to the networks, MTV, VH1 and BET.

“Unfortunately, our kids can’t watch T.V. anymore because it’s covered with glorified gang bangers and inappropriate clothing for young women. This is why we have to hold the networks accountable just like our citizens hold mayors accountable when a young person gets shot by a gang.

“We cannot have strong families, strong cities and a strong America unless we come together on this issue and say ‘enough is enough,’ because what’s happening in the black community is also happening in the white community. Hearing young kids loosely use the ‘n’ word is not ‘cool’, and unless we stand up and say, ‘we’re not buying your clothing’ or ‘we’re not listening to your music’, we cannot make a difference.”