In a video you have to see to believe, a trustee for Oak Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, screamed at her colleagues for speaking on racial issues as white men.
During a Monday board of trustees meeting on rewriting the town’s diversity statement, trustee Susan Buchanan flipped out after trustee Dan Moroney objected to language he thought might be offensive to the town police department. According to CBS 2, part of the statement read: “We work to break down systems of oppression.”
“I hesitate to send the message to our police department that they are a system of oppression,” Moroney said.
In video from the meeting, Buchanan says Moroney and fellow trustee Deno Andrews “shouldn’t have an opinion” on the matter and attacked them for being white.
“You have been white from birth! Why are you arguing what is a system of oppression? You’ve never experienced one! So shut up! I don’t want to hear from you! Just stop!” Buchanan said.
“You have not spent a day with dark brown skin and tried to walk through this society!” she said with raised voice.
Her ravings drew applause from the audience.
“This mayor and this board is obviously not willing to face history,” she yelled. “We have a chance to make history. It is time for this community to face equity. Enough! And you stop it! You are a white male! You stop it, you are a white male! Your skin is light enough. Stop it!”
The Village of Oak Park meeting agenda and full video of Buchanan’s comments are available at the town’s website.