Two employees of the town of Warner resigned after a recording was made public of the men allegedly making racist comments about Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
The resignations of employees Joe Swimmer and Matt McClean were announced during a town hall meeting Wednesday evening, attendees told the Tulsa World.
In the recording, two men are heard talking about receiving a day off for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday. One of the men in the recording says, “I’m not celebrating n----- day.”
Another man responds, saying, “Well, we can just call it J-E-R Day — James Earl Ray,” referring to the man who assassinated King.
Michael Wittmer, who works in the town’s street maintenance department, recorded the conversation Monday and provided the audio to local online news organization Muskogee Now. Wittmer identified Swimmer and McClean as the men speaking in the recording.
He also supplied the audio to the Tulsa World.
“I thought it was real disrespectful,” Wittmer told the World. He said King was someone who “lost (his) life” fighting for something he believed in.
“It don’t matter what color or what race you are,” he said.
Wittmer said he witnessed similar comments throughout his eight years working for the town.
Rev. Rodger Cutler, who is president of the Muskogee NAACP branch, was one of many locals who called for the employees’ terminations after the recording was released.
“As a citizen of Oklahoma, I was outraged and appalled that this type of behavior is still going on and tolerated in our city governments,” Cutler said. “It is appearing to be a trend that’s going on throughout this state.”
As a civil rights leader in the community, he said he felt compelled to look further into the incident and ensure it wasn’t swept under the rug.
City of Warner officials reportedly hosted the town hall meeting in response to the recording. Cutler, who attended the gathering, said they went into executive session for about 17 minutes before publicly addressing the resignations and promising an investigation into the incident.
Cutler said he is pleased with the immediate outcome but added that he hopes the city looks into whether the former employees ever discriminated against persons of color. He also believes their supervisors need to be investigated.
“If (the comments) have been going on for some time, then that means some higher-ups knew about it and only did something about it because of the recording,” he said. “Our feeling is that perhaps there are some higher-ups who need to be looked at, as well.”
Warner town manager Johnny Lewis did not return a phone call Thursday. Multiple phone calls to the Warner city office went unanswered.
(17) comments
Freedom of speech =/= freedom from consequences
There is no white-on-black racism any more. It's all black-on-white now.
Oh - wait....
I'm kidding, of course. There are still plenty of white knuckle-draggers who believe and talk like that when they believe no one will know.
And, Joseph, plenty of white fingers attached to those knuckles that click 'send' on group emails containing racist jokes or cartoons and forget that someone on that mailing list might just take offense and turn them into HR.
Roy, how is it that you are still posting on this site? Didn't I read somewhere that you were banned permanently?
Boy, that didn't take long and I didn't even lodge a complaint with Mr. Collington. I'd like to say I'm saddened by this, but ....
James J, Roy has been banned but I don't know if it's permanent. But he is proud of the fact that he gets around it which should result in a permanent ban. Joseph appears to be another offender but not using his real name. It's a sign of the times. [smile]
The comments were definitely over the line. But, I thought it was illegal to record someone without their knowledge. Isn't that why surveillance cameras don't have microphones?
Look at it this way, they weren't going to be off work for MLK Day on Monday, but now they are. I wonder if they will attend a parade?
The REAL question is will you social justice liberal warriors attend a parade. I won't believe it unless your avatar is selfie with a band or float behind you. [beam]
Do they have an MLK Day Parade in Warner OK? They don't in my town.
David, I assume you're skipping the parade? Are you getting the day off from work?
I'll bet that you believe that all of the mainstream media except Fox News is captured by "liberal bias" too. Am I right?
There is no excuse for their language and attitude. I wonder what would be revealed of a recording in a BLM meeting or an NAACP meeting? In my life it seems like the races get along much better on the job and in real life than their leaders do. Too bad the leaders always just stir the pot instead of having real meaningful discourse. There is plenty of hate and bigotry on both sides, but somehow I think a lot of it is manufactured for political reasons and that's a shame. [smile]
Roy, You have been banned but you don't seem to care. Just because you get around it doesn't make me wrong, it just shows your problem. It's amazing how my comments remain while yours go bye bye all the time. Kinda reminds me of the Obama legacy. BTW I'm saving all your text messages. So sorry I gave you my cell number, sure glad I never gave you my e-mail. Set another trap and see if I fall for it. Funny. [smile]
Roy, I remember our talks. I thought it was great to be able to talk to a Trump hater rationally. Boy did that change. My bad. Chalk that up as a mistake for me if you wish.
I can handle it. [smile]
David, your list is short a lot of liberal names. But liberals have no problem with breaking rules and continue to post under new fake names or their real names by gaming the system. It's just what they do. [smile]
Roy, no I'm not and I don't need to be. I can do a whole lot more than you, and accomplished a whole lot more than you in life. I wonder why? [smile]
Roy, You have my number and I have not blocked you. Why not just man up and call me? I'm up. [smile]
Welcome to the discussion.
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