Speak Out: Marion Barry's Remarks about Asian Businesses
The Washington, D.C. Council member is quoted as saying the Asian businesses in Ward 8 "ought to go".
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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.
Sherell Williams
5:41 pm on Thursday, April 5, 2012
The Washington Post has updated their story and Marion Barry has apologized for his remarks. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/mike-debonis/post/marion-barry-stands-by-remark-that-asian-businesses-ought-to-go-from-ward-8/2012/04/05/gIQAP2TlxS_blog.html?hpid=z2&Post+generic=%3Ftid%3Dsm_twitter_washingtonpost
Sandra
8:22 pm on Thursday, April 5, 2012
I've always thought that Marion Barry was a complete idiot, and this just proves my point. Whether or not his comments have any validity to them, the way they are presented has a definite racist tone. If anyone else made such a comment about African American businesses, you know he would be the first to scream "racism"!
Common Sense
10:54 am on Friday, April 6, 2012
It still surprises me why the idiot gets voted in everytime. It sure says a lot about the voters
hasty krippendorff
12:53 pm on Friday, April 6, 2012
He's an idiot, & clueless. The hardworking Korean-American businesses face daily fear of being robbed &/or shot & killed by the community. Barry tried to spin his remarks by saying they serve high-calorie food, bad food. When in fact that is due to preference & popular demand by customers.
rabidcamel
1:03 pm on Friday, April 6, 2012
He is a racist, plain and simple. Perhaps he should be focusing his time on figuring out why Asians are able to establish and maintain successful businesses and how "his people" can replicate their success. He is a poster child of the destructive "take care of our own" racist mentality that permeates much of urban African-American culture.