Posted on Tuesday, 22nd February 2005 by Patrick Dorwin
Mike McGee Jr. is turning people off, even those that support the cause of Frank Jude Jr. I count myself among those that want the truth and charges ASAP, but as I suggest in earlier posts, McGee is harming the cause with his caustic rhetoric. He could have been a leader in this, but he has shown himself to be a foul mouthed bigot. He refuses to apologize for his comments and now other city leaders are coming out denouncing his action.
JS Online: McGee remarks bring demands for apology
“We are not out to condemn him but to remind him that his words have power in our community,” said Charles Daniels, an advocate for those with HIV/AIDS.“You’re trying to get justice for a hate crime by spreading hate words,” Daniels said at a news conference at the Milwaukee Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Community Center.
The center’s executive director, James Pennington, said he supports McGee’s calls for justice for Jude and that he believes both McGee and Milwaukee’s LGBT community share a commitment to fight discrimination. But he also said that McGee has not responded to numerous requests from the center to meet and discuss the comments.
Milwaukee Ald. Mike D’Amato has said he is considering sending a letter to McGee – to be signed by himself and other aldermen – calling on McGee to apologize for the comments.
In a statement Monday, (Ald. Joe) Davis called the boycott “a hostile attack on businesses that are working to reduce unemployment in the African-American community and also targets families from our community who live and work in the Midtown neighborhood.”
McGee called for the one-day boycott by blacks of the two malls last week, terming it a day of “economic sanctions.”
The two malls were apparently chosen based on how many blacks shop there. It is unclear why it would be acceptable for blacks – or anyone else who supports the boycott – to spend their money elsewhere in the city that day, or why other malls in the county were not included.
…
For instance, at the Wal-Mart there, 252 of 319 employees are black. That is 79%. At the Jewel-Osco store, 100 of 126 employees are black, also 79%. Other stores have similar, or even higher, percentages of black workers, according to the Davis statement.
Davis noted that the beating did not happen in the Midtown area, adding that to hurt businesses and people who work there is “simply unjust.”
And for the man McGee called Master Tom.
McGee, meanwhile, plans a Wednesday news conference outside Mayor Tom Barrett’s office on “shameful news” regarding the mayor and his ties to the city’s black community.
Barrett spokeswoman Carlene Orig said she had no idea what McGee was referring to in his statement.
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April 18th, 2005 at 11:09 am
[...] r and has been constantly attacked over. They don’t seem to be at all interested in Alderman Michael McGee Jr. making racial and homophonic comments or calling the D.A. a “dumb ass” [...]