Following an incident on the House Floor last Thursday, members of the Florida Legislative Black Caucus, today issued a statement on the lack of courtesy, civility, decorum, and professionalism on the House floor, especially geared towards Black women members of the Black Caucus.
“We are being forced to operate in a chamber where the rules of decorum only apply to one party- a chamber where the Black legislators are constantly reduced to name calling and hostility for simply doing their jobs. Last Thursday after offering debate on a bill, a member of our caucus, who has been spat on and kicked during the Jim Crow era in her fight for a seat at the table, was verbally attacked by a member of the majority party. In response, multiple members of the caucus who previously had been in support of the bill, voted down on the floor in protest and in solidarity with the Representative who was disrespected while doing her job and while trying to get answers for her constituents on an education initiative. We continuously are verbally attacked by majority leadership for simply offering our concerns and criticism on the House floor and when that same party resorts to name-calling, it is never addressed nor are consequences doled out. It is consistently harder for Democratic Black members of both chambers to do what they were elected to do without experiencing bullying, microaggressions and retribution. As a result, the Florida Legislative Black Caucus formally demands a public apology from Representative Randy Fine to Representative Yvonne Hinson and all members for his dishonorable and hateful rhetoric on the House floor last week and during his tenure. Lastly, we request Speaker Renner to address decorum and respect from the entire chamber and to enforce the rules of decorum in what should be a sacred space.”
