Maryland Democratic lawmaker Mary Lisanti censured for calling a district the “n****r district”
On Thursday, the Maryland House of Delegates enacted its second-harshest penalty against Delegate Mary Ann Lisanti for describing the Prince George district as the “n—– district.”
After Lisanti used the racial slur at a closed meeting with other lawmakers, the House unanimously voted 137 to 0 to censure Lisanti for her racist remarks.
According to the Washington Post, Delegate Jay Walker from the Prince George district was present when he heard the racial slurs.
Lisanti stated there is no “independent verification” she said racist remarks, even though she issued an apology in a public statement.
In a statement to the Post, Lisanti wrote, “I deeply apologize to the citizens of my district, people of Maryland, all of my colleagues in the Maryland General Assembly and everyone reading this for my word choice several weeks ago. I am sickened that a word that is not in my vocabulary came out of my mouth. It does not represent my belief system, my life’s work or what is my heart.”
Maryland House leadership is calling for Lisanti to resign. Majority Leader Kathleen M. Dumais (D-Montgomery) told the Post, “This is a serious situation and it warrants a serious response from this body. Outside of elections, the power to discipline members is ours and ours alone.”
However, Lisanti is refusing to step down, saying, “Quitting is easy, but not the road to redemption. Staying here, accepting responsibility, is hard work… But I am up for the challenge. And that is why I am staying. Healing begins tomorrow.”
After prominent Virginia Democrats were revealed to have worn blackface, the revelation of Lisanti’s slurs is just the most recent example of Democrats engaging in public racist displays.