Indiana Republicans boo Black lawmakers discussing discrimination
Black lawmakers in Indiana objected to a school bill they believe promotes segregation
Black lawmakers in Indiana were shouted down and booed by their Republican colleagues as they discussed discrimination.
The heated encounter took place on Thursday as the legislative chamber debated House Bill 1367 which would “initiate a process to disannex certain territory from an existing school corporation,”
USA Todayreported. Democrats have charged that the Republican-led bill would promote segregation, allowing students in St. Joseph County township to leave more racially diverse schools and enroll in those that are primarily white instead.
Jake Teshka, who authored the bill, said it was one that focused on transportation.
Indiana Republican lawmakers shout down, boo Black colleagues speaking about discrimination Arika Herron and Kaitlin Lange, Indianapolis Star
Gov. Eric Holcomb s COVID-19 update from Feb. 17, 2021
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INDIANAPOLIS - Tensions flared at the Indiana Statehouse Thursday when Republican lawmakers shouted down and booed Black lawmakers during floor debate on a bill that some see as discriminatory.
Rep. Greg Porter, D-Indianapolis, walked off the House floor after several Republican lawmakers loudly objected to his warnings of discrimination in House Bill 1367. Porter, a member of the Black caucus, said the bill would allow students in a St. Joseph County township to leave the South Bend Community Schools, which are racially diverse, to join a nearby school district that s smaller, more rural and made up primarily of white students.
Feb 18, 2021 / 10:59 PM EST
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) Emotions reached a boiling point Thursday among state lawmakers.
That heated exchange happened inside the Indiana Government Center where the Indiana House of Representatives was meeting. At one point, News 8 heard shouting and saw several people quickly leave the House chamber, a meeting room outside the Statehouse being used during the coronavirus pandemic.
The commotion started when lawmakers were talking about House Bill 1367. According to an online digest, the bill would establish a two-year pilot program in the John Glenn School Corp., based in Walkerton, to initiate a process to disannex certain territory from the existing school corporation boundaries and annex other territory. Walkerton is about 20 miles southwest of South Bend. The Associated Press reported that the bill would allow a rural, mostly white, St. Joseph County township to leave the South Bend Community Schools. Rep. Jake Tashka, a Republican from South Bend,
Incident At Government Center: The Majority and Minority Factor
STATE HOUSE–Debate about whether a bill that allows a mostly white township in St. Joseph County to leave the South Bend Community School District is discriminatory, spilled over into the hallway at Government Center, Thursday.
News 8’s David Williams witnessed the incident and reported that Rep. Vanessa Summers (D-Indianapolis) was part of a small group of representatives who left the floor and went into the hallway when hissing and cat calls could be heard during Rep. Greg Porter’s floor speech about his experience as a Black man.
“Rep. Eberhart (Sean Eberhart, a Republican from Shelbyville) got upset. He thought I was talking directly to him. I was not. Then he called me a bitch,” said Summers. She said she was upset that it was tough for a Black representative to talk about the Black experience on the House floor.