Speak Out: Marion Barry's Remarks about Asian Businesses

Washington, D.C. council member Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) has come under fire for comments he made Tuesday about Asian-American businesses in the Ward 8 community.

According to the Washington Post, Barry is quoted as saying: "We’ve got to do something about these Asians coming in, opening up businesses, those dirty shops. They ought to go, I’ll just say that right now, you know. But we need African-American businesspeople to be able to take their places, too.”

The Post further quotes Barry as clarifying his comments to say that the restaurants he was referring to "serve high caloric food, bad food, et cetera," and that he specifically mentioned Asians because they own "90 percent of all the small restaurants in Ward 8".

In response, Asian-American delegates from Maryland Sam Arora (D-19th), Kumar Barve (D-17th), Susan Lee (D-16th), Aruna Miller (D-15th) and Kris Valderrama (D-26th) and others have called for Barry to apologize.

Do you think Marion Barry should apologize for his comments against Asian restaurants? Speak out in the comments.