It’s interesting how often blond hair is mentioned as proof of the girl’s whiteness. The double standard here would be even more obvious if Isis were of mixed ancestry and Dymally dropped the issue if she and her parents refused to be called “black.”
The buzz: Dymally backpedals – it’s proof he’s ‘great’
The Sacramento Bee
by Gary Delsohn
The story surrounding Education Secretary Richard Riordan’s bizarre comment to a 6-year-old that her name means “stupid, dirty girl” gets stranger by the day.
Assemblyman Mervyn Dymally was quoted in the San Jose Mercury News that the little girl, whose name is Isis, was African American, and expressed outrage that Riordan would talk to her that way. “Would he have done that to a white girl?” he was quoted in the newspaper.
It turned out, of course, that the girl is white, and a press conference Dymally’s office called to urge Riordan to resign was abruptly canceled.
Lawmaker drops push for Riordan to quit post
TURNS OUT INSULT WASN’T RACE-BASED
By Kate Folmar
Mercury News Sacramento Bureau
A lawmaker who had called for Education Secretary Richard Riordan to resign for joking with a 6-year-old that her name meant “stupid, dirty girl” abruptly backed off Thursday after mistakenly suggesting that race was a factor in the quip.
Assemblyman Mervyn Dymally, D-Compton, canceled a news conference Thursday with civil rights groups after learning that the girl subjected to Riordan’s joke was white, not black.
Other links:
http://gcruse.typepad.com/the_owners_manual/2004/07/put_some_isis_o.html
http://www.ignut.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=378&get=last
http://www.ottumwacourier.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=12289666&BRD=2575&PAG=740&dept_id=331520&rfi=6
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2004/7/12/123911.shtml
http://new.blackvoices.com/news/bv-naacp070904,0,1363035.story?coll=bv-news-black-headlines
http://www.modbee.com/opinion/letters/story/8869180p-9758559c.html
http://www.presstelegram.com/Stories/0,1413,204%257E21479%257E2264907,00.html