Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank has found himself apologizing for a joke he made this past weekend at the expense of slain hoodie wearer Trayvon Martin.
Frank was talking about the academic robe civil rights leader Hubie Jones received at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth commencement on Sunday when he pulled on his own robe and said “you now have a hoodie you can wear and no one will shoot at you.
The joke drew awkward chuckles and many groans from those in attendance.
Trayvon Martin was killed in Florida while wearing a hoodie, a piece of clothing that became a symbol for his death.
Apologizing for his awkward attempt at a joke Frank says he used the same joke at his own expense at three other graduation ceremonies with very different results.
According to Frank the joke was meant to “ridicule the notion that a hooded sweatshirt is somehow sinister.”
After the ceremony Hubie Jones told reports that he did not believe Barney Frank was attempting in any way to insult him or other black men.
Barney Frank has never been the type of politician to stand idly by without any type of controversy, although perhaps he would do well to avoid using such dated material in the first place, after all the hoodie talk has been out of favor for more than a month now.
Here’s the commencement speech Barney Frank delivered alongside his hoodie comment:
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Are you offended by Barney Frank’s off color hoodie remark?
