A Maryland lawmaker was forced to apologize on Tuesday after she used a racial slur to describe a majority-black county in Delaware.
Mary Ann Lisanti (D-Harford) allegedly told a white colleague late last month at an Annapolis cigar bar that campaigning in Prince George’s County on behalf of another candidate amounted to door-knocking in a “nigger district,”, The Washington Post reports.
Prince George’s County has a black population of 65 percent and is one of the most affluent majority-black counties in the U.S., according to the Census Bureau. The county Lisanti represents is 80 percent white. She later apologized for her “word choice several weeks ago.”
“I am sickened that a word that is not in my vocabulary came out of my mouth,” she said in a statement. “It does not represent my belief system, my life’s work or what is my heart.”
Lisanti also apologized to the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland on Monday saying she did not recall using the slur and offered an “inadequate” apology, the caucus said in a statement on Tuesday.
“It is clear Delegate Lisanti is unsuited to continue in a position of leadership in the Maryland General Assembly,” the black caucus statement said. “The use of a derogatory term exhibits that she does not hold the requisite contrition to be entrusted in a leadership role moving forward.”
On Tuesday Lisanti announced that she had also apologized to the entire House Democratic Caucus and had agreed to
Busch said in a statement Monday that Lisanti must “face the consequences of her behavior.”
The Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland also called on Lisanti to undergo racial sensitivity training, which she said she would attend.
“I understand that the use of inappropriate and insensitive language is not acceptable under any circumstance,” she wrote in her statement. “I am sorry for the hurt I have caused and will do everything I can to help heal that pain and regain the trust of my colleagues and constituents. I pray for forgiveness.”
The Post asked Lisanti earlier this month if she used the slur, but she claimed she couldn’t “recall much of that evening.” When asked if she believes she’s ever used the word, Lisanti said she was “sure” she had.
“I’m sure everyone has used it,” she told the Post. “I’ve used the f-word. I used the Lord’s name in vain.”
Press play below for more on Lisanti.
