The president of the Los Angeles City Council apologized after she and two other council members were caught using racist language while discussing a white colleague and his young Black son in a wide-ranging conversation with a labor leader. Audio of the conversation between council president Nury Martinez, members Gil Cedillo and Kevin de León, and Los Angeles County Federation of Labor President Ron Herrera initially leaked to Reddit earlier this month. They were first reported Sunday by the Los Angeles Times and Knock LA. In the October 2021 conversation, which lasted for roughly an hour, Martinez can be heard calling fellow council member Mike Bonin “that little bitch,” remarking that he handled his adopted son like “an accessory.” Later, she refers to the child as “su negrito,” a disparaging term for a Black person, and “ese changuito,” or that little monkey. In a Sunday statement, Martinez said, “In a moment of intense frustration and anger, I let the situation get the best of me and I hold myself accountable for these comments.” Bonin told the Times that the audio had made him “disgusted and angry and heartsick,” adding that his son had been 2 years old at the time they were made.
