A local government official in Kansas uttered a racial slur at a meeting last week but subsequently denied that it was due to racism, citing the homes he’s built for “colored people.”
During a meeting of the Saline County, Kan. Commission last Tuesday, a discussion over whether to hire an architect to design repairs to local bridges turned heated. Commissioner Jim Gile argued that the county should hire an architect rather than “nigger-rigging it,” a remark that prompted laughter from others in the room, according to the Salina Journal. When Gile was asked what he said, he replied, “Afro-Americanized.”
“He’s like that congressman from Alaska,” Commission Chairman Randy Duncan said, referring to Rep. Don Young (R-AK).
On Friday, Gile said he meant to invoke the term “jury-rigged.”
“I had it (jury-rigged) on my brain and this came out,” Gile said, as quoted by the Salina Journal. “It was a bad choice of words. I’m sorry.”
Gile, who is serving his first term as a commissioner, said that he’s not racist. “I am not a prejudiced person,” Gile said. “I have built Habitat homes for colored people.”
Duncan appeared to agree, arguing that “there is not a racist bone” in Gile’s body.
(Photo via Macmillan)