White NC legislator apologizes after interrupting Black colleague with racist question
A white legislator in the North Carolina House interrupted his Black colleague Wednesday to ask if he could have achieved his educational successes at Harvard University had he not been “an athlete or a minority.”
Rep. Jeff McNeely, a Republican from Stony Point and a member of the chamber’s ultraconservative Freedom Caucus, made his remarks during floor debate Wednesday on a controversial education bill. Legislators were arguing over a bill that would expand the eligibility requirements for North Carolina Opportunity Scholarships. As Rep. Abe Jones, a Democratic lawmaker from Raleigh, debated the bill, McNeely interrupted with a question.
“I understand that you went into public schools and you went to Harvard and Harvard Law,” McNeely said to Jones, who is Black. “And the question I guess, is, would you have been able to maybe achieve this if you were not an athlete or a minority or any of these things, but you were a student trapped in a school that the slowest — you know, in the wild we’ll say the slowest gazelle does not survive, but yet the herd moves at that pace. So the brightest child sometimes is held back in order — “
Before McNeely could finish his comment, House Democratic leader Robert Reives interjected, calling for a point of order.
“I’m hoping I wasn’t the only one that got shocked by that comment,” Reives said. “The only reason you went to Harvard is because you were Black and an athlete?”
“I did not say that,” McNeely replied. “I said, would that, did that end up being one of the reasons? I do not know that. I asked him this.”
Before the conversation could continue, House Speaker Tim Moore, a Kings Mountain Republican, banged his gavel to cut off McNeely and return the floor to Jones.
“I apologize and I’ll refrain,” McNeely said before deferring.
After saying that he didn’t know the answer to McNeely’s question, Jones said he’d add just one thing.
“Harvard gave five rankings for their students,” he said. “One, two, three, four, five. When I graduated from Harvard, I was in rank two. So I earned my place, and I did well.”
Democrats on the floor erupted in a standing ovation. Applause is not typically permitted during House floor debate, but Moore allowed the outburst to continue unchecked.
Before the session concluded, McNeely apologized. He said his comments came out differently than he intended and that he would personally apologize to Jones after the chamber adjourned.
“I also want to say directly to Rep. McNeely, I accept his apology,” Jones said. “I’ve never had any cross words with him. I assume he didn’t mean any harm to me. He had guts enough to apologize to me publicly, and I have guts enough to accept it.”
Jones, a lawyer, was the first Black student council member at Enloe High School in Wake County, according to his campaign website. He graduated from Harvard University in 1974 and Harvard Law School in 1977.
This story was originally published May 17, 2023 at 3:30 PM with the headline "White NC legislator apologizes after interrupting Black colleague with racist question."
