By State Senator John Sampson
BROOKLYN, NY -- The following is a statement by State Senator John Sampson on the remarks reportedly made by radio station Hot 97’s deejay “Miss Jones” about the striking transit workers and the leader of the Transport Workers Union Local 100, Roger Toussaint.
“Once again Miss Jones has clearly demonstrated her ignorance about the Caribbean –American community and its contribution to the social, political and economic fabric of New York City. Her characterization of TWO Local 100’s leader Roger Toussaint as a "dumb coconut who probably don't have a green card" is her philistine and infantile attempt to ape and mimic the worst and most banal sections of talk radio. Perhaps Miss Jones aspired to be a female version of Rush Limbaugh or Bob Grant.
“I would like to inform her that I too trace my roots to the Caribbean – just like Roger Toussaint. Her race-hatred is so apparent that it blinds her to some essential facts – when Black people attack each other in the way that she did it makes us all look bad. Miss Jones is the best example of a self-loathing individual who wallows in self-hatred and whose putrid manifestation is an attempt to “sound white against Black people.”. “Her actions are not shocking because she and her bosses believe that by behaving so ignorant and reactionary that their station’s ratings will go up. Interestingly, Miss Jones’ reserves her vile utterings for members of her own race but is conspicuously silent when New York City’s Mayor Mike Bloomberg calls poor people striking for a better standard of living and retirement benefits “selfish thugs.”
“I call on the Management of Hot 97 to immediately and permanently cancel Miss Jones’ program and issue a public apology to the hardworking, law-abiding Caribbean-American community in general and Roger Toussaint in particular. “Mr. Toussaint’s immigration status is not Miss Jones’ concern or business and his country of origin does not make him less articulate or smart. He has demonstrated tremendous leadership qualities of New York State’s labor movement. He was elected to the position he now holds by a majority of the 34,000 transit workers. For Miss Jones to disparage the leader of one of the State’s most important unions is to say that all of the members who support Mr. Toussaint are either too stupid or in Miss Jones’ parlance “a bunch of dumb people.”
“Its time that Black people in this City see Miss Jones for what she is “ a backward, ignorant, uninformed and philistine hack-job who is only comfortable when she disparages, disrespects and insults her own kind to cover her obvious shortcomings.”