Young had also commented on another post, saying, “Cincinnati has a problem and they always had a problem with the black citizens. Their (sic) animals and won’t change.”
McGurrin and fellow Trustee Keith Ballauer called on Young to step down, but he refused. Instead, he offered a classic non-apology.
“I’m sorry if I offended someone,” Young said.
Pressed further, Young said: “I shouldn’t have done that, I agree, but I thought we were a Christian nation.”
The irony of his statement was not lost on meeting attendees, who erupted in laughter.
The defensive township trustee, who had less than a week before claimed Black Americans were “animals and won’t change,” expecting Christian forgiveness for his behavior is a degree of hypocrisy that this editorial board hopes can be instructive.
Posting racist rhetoric on social media is alarmingly common. So, too, is jumping to conclusions about news events before waiting for sufficient reporting and investigation.
Both acts are protected by the First Amendment, but, as McGurrin said at the emergency meeting, “Just because we have the right to say something, doesn’t mean it’s something we should say.”
While Young claims to have made peace with God over his comments, it wasn’t God who elected him to office. He appeared dismissive of the constituents who attended the meeting to ask for his resignation, claiming at one point that it was “the matter of a few people.”
As an elected official, Young’s comments reflect poorly on the entire community and call into question his fitness to lead. If a township trustee truly believes that Black Americans are “animals,” then that person is not qualified to hold public office. The language elected officials use also has consequences beyond those of an ordinary citizen.
When polled during the emergency meeting, both the chief of police and fire department responded that the comments would negatively affect their departments’ morale and recruitment efforts.
“It makes us look like a bunch of redneck, KKK type people, and that’s just not true,” Dan York, a resident, said.
Elected officials need to be held accountable for their behavior. That’s why in 2023 we called out a Tipp City Exempted Village Schools Board member who saluted the board president and said “sieg heil” as they exchanged heated remarks.
Public officials must understand their comments and actions are a reflection of the constituents they represent. When they use hateful language that inflames an already volatile situation, they contribute to the very real threat of political violence.
Last week, a Miami Twp. man accused of threatening to organize a mob to target Black people and kill thousands in Cincinnati was arrested by the FBI, apparently also in response to the July 26 incident on Fourth Street in downtown Cincinnati.
The incident in Cincinnati has exploded on social media and has attracted national attention after a number of videos from bystanders went viral. Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge warned against the spread of narratives around the fight “without factual context.”
Comments such as those made by Young and Cincinnati Councilwoman Victoria Parks are dangerously irresponsible. (Parks wrote on X: “They begged for that beat down.”)
Our position is unequivocal: Hate speech has no place in our communities. We need our elected officials to do better.
At the end of the emergency meeting last week, Ballauer asked Young to reconsider the decision not to step down. “You have lost the public’s trust, hence the title of ‘trustee.’”
This editorial board agrees with trustees Ballauer and McGurrin. David Young must resign his position as Ross Twp. trustee.
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