As previously reported by REVOLT, on Sunday (Oct. 9), audio was leaked of Los Angeles Council President Nury Martinez and several other officials making racist comments about Black people. Snippets of the conversation quickly went viral.
Yesterday (Oct. 10), Martinez resigned as president, according to ABC7 in Los Angeles. She also released a statement regarding her actions and the decision to walk away from her position. “I take responsibility for what I said and there are no excuses for those comments. I’m so sorry,” she began. “I sincerely apologize to the people I hurt with my words: to my colleagues, their families, especially to Mike, Sean, and your son. As a mother, I know better and I am sorry. I am truly ashamed. I know this is the result of my own actions. I’m sorry to your entire family for putting you through this,” Martinez continued.
In the leaked audio from 2021, Martinez and Councilman Kevin de León discussed council member Mike Bonin’s Black child. “They’re raising him like a little white kid,” she said of Bonin’s son. In 2017, the white council member brought the child to a Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade and let him ride on one of the floats. Martinez said the child’s behavior was unruly and he deserved a “beatdown.” She also referred to him as “ese changuito,” which means “little monkey,” and “su negrito,” a derogatory term for a Black person.
Martinez made disparaging comments about other elected officials, such as Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón as well. Her statement continued, “I ask for forgiveness from my colleagues and from the residents of this city that I love so much. In the end, it is not my apologies that matter most; it will be the actions I take from this day forward. I hope that you will give me the opportunity to make amends.”
She concluded, “Therefore, effective immediately I am resigning as president of the Los Angeles city council.” Before her announcement, videos on social media showed crowds of people in front of of her house, calling for her resignation. “Outside the home of LA City Council President Nury Martinez, protesters are asking for her resignation and playing the leaked recordings on a loudspeaker,” one person tweeted.
See related tweets below.