Ward 1 City Director Erma Hendrix and City Manager Bruce Moore briefly argued at Tuesday’s Little Rock Board of Directors meeting when Hendrix accused Moore’s staff of discrimination, saying blighted homes in wealthier wards are demolished quicker than in hers.
She spoke in regard to a list of vacant and run-down houses that city staff members often request the board to condemn. A lot of those houses are often in Ward 1, which includes downtown and east Little Rock and stretches south along Interstate 530.
“If you look at some of these houses in black communities, they are on the list for years,” Hendrix said, adding that houses in affluent areas are torn down quickly.
Her comment was quickly disputed by Moore, who is black.
“To accuse me and my staff of discriminating, I’m not tolerating that,” Moore said loudly. “We try very hard to take these houses down as quickly as we can. There are many legal issues on properties that are out of our hands. To say we discriminate is ridiculous, and I’m not going to tolerate that.”
Hendrix responded: “Don’t tell me it takes eight years to contact some boogaloo.”
The term “boogaloo” refers to a style of dance, but is also used as a derogatory term for black people. When Hendrix made the comment, several city directors raised their eyebrows, and Mayor Mark Stodola could be heard asking, “Did she just say that?”
When approached after the meeting, Hendrix - who is black - said to her the term is not an insult, “it’s just slang.”
“It could be a compliment. You take it whatever way you want to take it,” she said. “If I said that to another black, that couldn’t be slander. Not to me. … Boogaloo is just a word. It’s slang.”
Arkansas, Pages 13 on 04/09/2014