Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott responds to online-trolls, racists and far-right political junkies who were calling him the city’s “DEI mayor”.
In an interview with Joy Reid on MSNBC Wednesday, March 27, Scott said “What they mean by DEI, in my opinion, is duly elected incumbent”.
DEI stands for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and many cities across the country have been incorporating DEI commissions and groups to better look over instances involving race and ethnicity for their communities.
But, leave it to far-right groups to turn that the acronym into some kind of slur against the Black American community for simply doing their jobs.
Reid gave Scott a chance to respond to the hateful comments during the interview.
“I will allow you Mayor Scott, if you choose to do so, to respond to the tomfoolery and the attacks on you for having the nerve to be Black and also a mayor,” Reid said.
Scott said he was not surprised that he was the target of the hate speech, given that he was a Black American man in a position of power.
“Young Black men have been the boogeyman for those who are racist and think that only straight, wealthy, white men should have a say in anything,” Scott said. “We’ve been the boogeyman since they first brought us to this country.”
The mayor added that it was not lost on him what those online racists were really trying to say.
“We know what they want to say, but they don’t have the courage to say the n-word,” Scott said. “I am very proud of my heritage, and who I am, and where I come from and that scares them.”
Scott, 39, became mayor of Baltimore in 2020, and plans to run for re-election. He was born and raised in Baltimore and his key issues are gun violence and employment.
Scott has been the center of national attention, making announcements and press statements after a cargo ship hit the Francis Scott Key Bridge, and the bridge collapsed.
Following Scott’s press briefings, pictures popped up online of him with racists calling him a DEI mayor. Many people took to social media to blast the posts, calling out the racial undertones and the far-right agenda to disqualify black and brown politicians.
One post on X, formally known as Twitter, created a glossary of terms white conservatives often use, saying they all are euphemisms for the n-word.
Scott said he understands why the racists feel threatened by him, and perhaps they should be.
“Their way of thinking, and their way of life of being comfortable while everyone else suffers is at risk, and they should be afraid because that’s my purpose in life,” Scott said.