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Aug 3, 2006 7:23 pm US/Central
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Meeks Vows To Never Again Use A Racial Slur
Use Of Slur In Sermon Created Controversy
by Mike Flannery
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
Rev. James Meeks made an about face and promises now that he will never use a racial slur after setting off a firestorm when he used a slur in a sermon.
CBS 2 Political Editor Mike Flannery reports Meeks said the battle goes beyond language.
"I won't use the word, but what about all of the ills that the word has caused society?" Meeks asked on WBBM Newsradio 780.
The chairman of the General Assembly's Black Caucus says he's "officially retiring" the "n" word from his vocabulary, just a few days after fiercely defending his use of it to denounce African-Americans with whom he disagrees.
"You've got some preachers that are house n------. You've got elected officials that are house n------. And rather than them trying to break this up, they're going to fight you to protect that white man," Meeks said in the sermon last month.
Mayor Daley reacted on Thursday.
"Stop using the 'n' word. He should have never began using it," Daley said. "Thank God he has seen the light. Like anything else, the clouds separate and the light comes through and people receive that light. And I'm glad he has basically seen the light."
"Okay, so I've seen the light on that word. And now, when will he see the light on the teacher quality issue?" Meeks said to Newsradio 780.
As Meeks prepares possibly to run against Daley, he regularly attacks the mayor and his allies on education. While declining to respond to that, Daley kept hitting Meeks' use of the racial slur.
"We may have political differences, people may have, but to use derogatory words is unacceptable," Daley said.
"I would like for white America to be as concerned about the condition of black schools and white schools. I want white society to be as passionate about that than they are about that word," Meeks said.
It is clear this controversy is not over.
Among other things in that controversial sermon last month, Meeks referred to unnamed white mayors and white governors, accusing them of running a lousy educational system that intentionally kept young African-American students from learning how to read and write.
The Daley administration will likely respond to that statement.
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)