Topline
Highland, Indianaās town council meeting Monday night was interrupted when an image showing a caption reading āI DONāT LIKE (N-word)Sā appeared on a large screen that normally displays the agenda and informational graphics, resulting in an investigation from the Highland Police Department, according to multiple reports.
Key Facts
The image, which portrayed a Black man wearing overalls, a blond wig and no shirt, according to the Daily Beast, made its way onto the screen through an image sharing feature that allows residents to send in images, the Post-Tribune reported.
The cityās IT director, Ed Dabrowski, removed the image after about 20 seconds, apologized and explained that no one had ever used that feature for nefarious purposes, the Post-Tribune reported.
Dabrowski told the Post-Tribune heād disable the feature in the future and said he will ask the software company to provide him with the information of who it was that sent in the image.
The Highland Police Department is investigating the incident.
Key Background
Toya Smith, a Democrat, is the only Black member on the council, but she lost an election earlier this month to a Republican and will be leaving her post soon. Her colleagues on the council came to her support after the racist message, with Republican Mark Schocke calling it āblatant racism,ā and ādespicable,ā adding that āitās not welcome here, and we shouldnāt tolerate it in any way. Whoever did this, youāre not welcome here, and itās a shame that in 2023, weāre still dealing with it.ā
Crucial Quote
Smith addressed the incident during the comment portion of the meeting, according to the Post-Tribune, saying she was āso disgusted right now that we cannot get past racism.ā She continued: āI want Highland or whoever put it up there to know that this (N-word) will be coming back. Iām not defeated, but it is disgusting. And I want to thank the voters who allowed this (N-word) to make history, to serve, and Iāll be back.ā
Further Reading
Highland Police investigating racial epithet broadcast during council meeting (Post-Tribune)