A Cleveland radio station fired a news anchor this week after he pointed to the Democrat Kamala Harris to be the nation’s “first colored vice presidential candidate,” reports say.
What We Know:
- Anchor Kyle Cornell, 26, used Harris’ description during a news promo spot that was aired during the WTAM radio broadcast of a Cleveland Indians baseball game, the Cleveland.com, stated. “The U.S. officially has its first colored vice presidential candidate.” He then continued to say “more coming up after the game on Newsradio WTAM 1100 Cleveland”.
- “Colored” is known to be an outdated term by many people who link it with slavery and the Jim Crow era of the defenseless and racial segregation. The description continuously is used by the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), a well-known civil rights federation established during 1909.
- After being fired, Cornell told WKYC that he did not disrespect Harris in using the word. Cornell stated that was never the goal, and for that, again, he is genuinely sorry. He continued to say, for the WTAM station, he feels awful for putting them through what they had to go through during the past 24 hours; he just wants them to understand that it was a rough choice to make and that he accepts his punishment.
- WTAM’s program and promotions director Ray Davis issued a statement announcing Cornell’s dismissal. Davis stated they were aware of the reference made on WTAM by Kyle Cornell. He went onto say they take the matter seriously and addressed it immediately. The term that was used is extremely offensive, that does not follow the station’s core values and commitment to the communities they serve. They finalized by saying Kyle Cornell was no longer with WTAM.
This week, Harris, 55, formally accepted the Democratic Party’s vice-presidential nomination at the party’s convention. The U.S. junior senator from California is of Indian and Jamaican heritage. She is the first woman coming from a racial minority to be nominated to a major party’s presidential ticket.
