A Maryland lawmaker who witnesses say used a racial slur to describe a legislative district in Prince George’s County has been stripped of her leadership position and will undergo sensitivity training, the House speaker’s office announced Tuesday.
Del. Mary Ann Lisanti (D-Harford), who is white, issued a public apology Tuesday afternoon, after addressing the executive committee of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland on Monday night and the House Democratic Caucus on Tuesday morning.
“I deeply apologize . . . for my word choice several weeks ago,” Lisanti, 51, said in a statement. “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.”
Lisanti used the slur in front of several colleagues at an Annapolis cigar bar in late January. She told another white lawmaker that when he campaigned in Prince George’s on behalf of a candidate last fall, he was door-knocking in a “n—– district,” said Del. Jay Walker (D-Prince George’s), who witnessed the comment and represents the district in question.
Questioned about the incident by The Washington Post early this month, Lisanti said she did not recall using the racial slur at the gathering.
While speaking to Black Caucus leaders Monday night, Lisanti again said she did not recall using the racial slur at the cigar bar, according to Del. Darryl Barnes (D-Prince George’s), who chairs the caucus. Barnes described Lisanti late Monday as contrite during that closed-door session. But Tuesday, he told reporters that her initial apology was “woefully inadequate.”
Barnes said he’d received numerous calls from colleagues and constituents demanding Lisanti’s resignation, removal from her subcommittee chairmanship and censure on the House floor.
Many of Lisanti’s colleagues are struggling to accept her apology, said Del. Charles E. Sydnor (D-Baltimore County), who sits on the executive committee of the 57-member Black Caucus.
“It’s a privilege to be down here representing the citizens of the state of Maryland,” he said. “When you characterize a segment of your community in that light, it really calls into question the decisions that you are likely to be making.”
“Many folks don’t realize . . . the micro- and macro-aggressions and racial epithets we have to hear on a regular basis,” said Del. Jazz M. Lewis (D-Prince George’s). “And then to hear from one of our colleagues, who we assume values and respects us, it’s very hurtful. It makes you question. . . . Do you view us all like that?”
Harford County, which is northeast of Baltimore County, is about 76 percent non-Hispanic white and 14 percent black, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates. Prince George’s, the state’s second-most populous jurisdiction, is about 65 percent black and 13 percent non-Hispanic white.