Indiana State Representative Vanessa Summers, a Democrat and African-American woman, caused a stir during the House floor debate over the Religious Freedom Bill after she called out a fellow GOP colleague’s son as a future racist. However, there is one problem with Summers’ assessment of Representative Jud McMillin’s son: he is only 18-months-old.
An audio recording of the incident was uploaded to SoundCloud by IndyPolitics that featured the controversial clip.
In the recording you can hear Summers disturbing comments about the small child. Summers notes that the baby was scared of her “because of her color,” noting the child’s actions were “horrible.”
“I love his little son, but he’s scared of me because of my color — and that’s horrible.”
Many in the audience, Democrat and Republican alike, seemed to find Summers’ comment in poor taste. Groaning and gasping could be heard in the background almost immediately after Summers made the controversial statement. In response to the gasps, Summers pressed forward reiterating that she thought the child would become prejudiced if nothing is done now.
“It’s true. And that’s something we are going to work on. … I asked him please, ‘Introduce your child to some people of color so he won’t live his life as a prejudiced person.’ I would like for you all to not vote for this bill.”
After calling out the baby on the House floor, it didn’t stop there. When asked about the incident , Summers stuck by her response, noting that the child looked at her like she was “a monster.”
“He looked at me like I was a monster and turned around and cried. And I told him you need to introduce your child to some people that are dark-skinned so he will not be scared.”
However, as Representative McMillin pointed out, his son was simply scared because he had never met the woman before, not because of her skin color. In fact, McMillin says he doesn’t even remember anything out of the ordinary when his baby met Summers.
“He reacted the same way he reacts with anybody brand new, he buries his head in his dad’s shoulder. Whoever it is, it’s what he does. He’s an 18-month-old kid; he’s in a new environment up here in the place like the Statehouse but doesn’t know anybody. I honestly don’t remember anything out of the ordinary.”
What do you think about Summers’ comments about an 18-month-old baby potentially treating her differently because of her skin color ? Can a baby be racist?
[Image Credit: Daily Caller ]
