When Riverside City Council member Chuck Condor retweeted a meme showing three Black men–one a police officer, one dressed in a business suit, possibly meant to depict an attorney, and a young Black man, intimating visually the probability he was a criminal—there was little doubt regarding it’s racist symbolism.
Although Condor has his supporters, many of whom spoke in support of him at a special meeting on Thursday, June 11, 2020 testifying to his decency and goodness, trying to assure those who spoke out against him of what an honorable man he is; while others attempted a tit-for-tat defense, choosing to point the finger at Councilwoman Plascentia instead, appearing to trivialize her stand against Condor’s racist action and calling for his resignation, as if it was merely some form of benign political infighting.
However during the special meeting, Corey Jackson, the first African American elected to the Riverside County Board of Education, President of the Moreno Valley City-Wide Coalition, and Political Action Chair of the Riverside NAACP made it clear Black people and others in Riverside County are no longer willing to settle for degrees of racism.
California Assembly member Jose Medina (D-Riverside) recently shared his thoughts about the Condor tweet and recalling the city’s racist history, joined the call for Condor’s resignation.
And, I think young people like Gabby Placentia on the city council and Linda Aguilar, and Corey Jackson, especially young people, are no longer willing to just stand by and allow racist things to happen without comment.”