INDIANAPOLIS — Terre Haute NAACP members stood with other NAACP chapters at the Indiana Statehouse Tuesday to “call for respect, civility and accountability among legislators.”
The NAACP Legislative Day is an annual event during which members meet with legislators to discuss current bills. The Terre Haute NAACP said they continue to advocate for a comprehensive hate crime law, and are also in support of redistricting reform.
This year’s event also comes on the heels of a Feb. 18 incident on the House floor in which Black Representatives such as Vernon Smith speaking against the passage of a bill they called “racist” and “discriminatory” were reportedly booed and heckled by other members of congress. Smith said he was shocked by their actions and felt like they were attempting to silence him.
“I’m in my 31st year — I’ve never booed anyone or had the desire to boo anyone,” Smith said. “I have never gotten up and walked out, and many times there were topics that I disagreed with wholeheartedly, topics that have caused my blood to boil. But being civil and understanding that they have a right to speak their views, I sit there and take it.”
Vernon added, “The bullying didn’t bother me because when you have a message, you know it’s not going to be received well by all parties. What bothered me was their effort to try and shut me up. We have representative form of government and I’m here to represent my district.”
State Representative Robin Shackleford, chairman for the Indiana Legislative Black Caucus, said the behavior she witnessed was unacceptable. “It was shocking to see our members behave like that,” she said. “It’s not part of the decorum that we expect to have at the Statehouse. At one point I went up to the Speaker and said, ‘We need to gain control of this chamber,’ which did not happen.”
Failure to condemn such behavior, Shackleford said, could have negative effects in the long run.
“We want to make sure those legislators are in the right mindset and know that if something is going to effect negatively the minority community, that they know this upfront and don’t continue to push this legislation.”
“We needed to come today so we can call the General Assembly to be civil to all elected officials,” John Lang, VP of the Terre Haute chapter of the NAACP, said. “The action that was taken that day was disrespectful to all black people across the state of Indiana, especially to the people that were represented or elected to represent the people in their various communities.”
NAACP chapters across Indiana have also spoken out in support of Smith and Representative Greg Porter and Vanessa Summers, who were also reportedly harassed that day.
Members of the Terre Haute chapter said they will continue to call out racism across the state.