Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

White GOP Rep. Blasted For Referring To Rep. Al Green As 'Boy' During Interview

Diana Harshbarger; Al Green
Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Republican Rep. Diana Harshbarger sparked outrage after she referred to Democratic Rep. Al Green as "boy" during an interview with a Christian media group.

Tennessee MAGA Republican Representative Diana Harshbarger sent a clear message to White supremacists and Christian nationalists during a recent interview with F.A.M.E. Ministries.

Speaking about Texas Democratic Representative Al Green, Harshbarger said:


"Al Green was over here with his cane, and I'm like: 'Gosh dang it, boy!'."
"'Put that...' He does not need that cane. That cane is a prop. I swear it's not real."

Dropping her shovel and getting out the bucket loader, Harshbarger decided to go further.

She told her White "Christian" interviewer:

"And I’m wondering...one of my colleagues said, 'Screw [off] the gold part of that, see if there's a gun in there'. I'm like, I don't know about that man. He's just weird..."

His response to her racist comments was to laugh.

While Harshbarger managed to restrain herself from using the word "thug" in her references to Representative Green, she did hit plenty of other White nationalist dogwhistles, like pointedly calling the 77-year-old Black member of Congress "boy" despite being over a decade his junior and implying he's armed and faking a disability.

You can see a clip from her interview:

youtu.be


The United States Supreme Court acknowledged in 2006 that the word "boy" can function as a racial slur depending on the context. As the amicus brief for the case stated:

"If not a proxy for [the n-word], it is at the very least a close cousin."

Anyone growing up or living south of the Mason-Dixon Line is fully aware of the implication, and many noted the way it rolled off Harshbarger's tongue.

The Communication Workers of America (CWA) union was so disgusted by Harshbarger's behavior, they demanded an apology.

In an official press release, CWA union president Claude Cummings Jr. wrote:

"During a recent podcast interview with FAME Ministries, Tennessee Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger referred to Texas Congressman Al Green using a racial slur, suggested that the cane he uses to provide stability when he walks is a 'prop' that might contain a weapon, and referred to members of the LGBTQ community as 'fairies.'"
"FAME Ministries claims to be a Christian organization working to bring positive, moral, and ethical change to our media culture. There is absolutely nothing positive, moral, ethical, or Christian about mocking and demeaning anyone based on their race, use of mobility aids, or sexual orientation."
"Representative Green is a distinguished member of Congress who has spent his career fighting for working people, especially our veterans. If Congresswoman Harshbarger truly wants to bring people into the love of Christ, as she said on the podcast, she should apologize for her comments and emulate Al Green’s example of selfless service to his constituents and our country."

CWA wasn't alone in their condemnation of Harshbarger.

Daily Kos/YouTube


Diana Harshbarger was born in 1960, her calling a black man 14 years her senior “boy” is just dressing up in your daddy’s klan robe

[image or embed]
— CHOAM Nomsky (@samthielman.com) April 22, 2025 at 8:30 PM


Daily Kos/YouTube


Tennessee KKK GOPer Diana Harshbarger has referred to black 77 year old civil rights hero Congressman Al Green as “boy” which as we all know is inherently racist. Racism and cruelty has always been the point.
— Ricky Davila (@therickydavila.bsky.social) April 23, 2025 at 1:35 AM


Daily Kos/YouTube


Rep. Diana Harshbarger called Rep. Al Green—a 77-year-old Black congressman—“boy” for protesting Trump’s Medicaid cuts. Then joked his cane might hide a gun. This isn’t a gaffe. It’s racism, weaponized.

[image or embed]
— H. John Tran (@johnhtran.bsky.social) April 21, 2025 at 10:12 PM


Daily Kos/YouTube


Tennessee Republican Rep. Diana Harshbarger referred to Texas Democrat Al Green, a 77-year-old Black man, as “boy.” Calling a grown Black man “boy” is another way of calling him the N-word. www.thedailybeast.com/white-gop-re...

[image or embed]
— Ibram X. Kendi (@ibramxk.bsky.social) April 21, 2025 at 8:35 PM


Daily Kos/YouTube

Harshbarger later attacked the Biden administration's support of equality, especially for their refusal to back Republican efforts to strip the LGBTQ+ community of basic human rights.

She told the cackling Christian podcast host:

"Listen, I never saw so many fairies in the White House! Dancing around—I don't know where they got 'em."

The GOP has yet to officially respond to Harshbarger's racism, ableism and homophobia.

If the past repeats itself, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson will take no action and simply say they've prayed the transgressions away.

More from News/political-news

Screenshot of Molly Ringwald; Donald Trump
@mollyringwald/Instagram; Win McNamee/Getty Images

Molly Ringwald Urges Fans To Speak Out Against ICE And 'Fascist' Trump In Powerful Video

Actor Molly Ringwald—best known for her roles as a member of the "Brat Pack" in films like Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club—denounced President Donald Trump and ICE, telling fans she "can’t stay silent and neither should you."

Ringwald, speaking out mere days after ICE agents murdered ICU nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, told her followers in a post on Instagram that she had previously "been so proud to be an American but right now this is a fascist government.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots of Liam Conejo Ramos receiving pilot wings
@johnquinones/Instagram

5-Year-Old Boy Abducted By ICE Gets Wings From Pilot On Flight Home To Minneapolis In Sweet Viral Video

5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, who was taken to an ICE detention facility in Texas along with his father, finally returned home to Minneapolis on Sunday and received his pilot wings thanks to Delta Air Lines pilots on the flight from San Antonio.

Ramos and his father were abducted by ICE agents on their way home from preschool in the Minneapolis area last month; Ramos is the fourth student from the Columbia Heights School District to be swept up in the Trump administration's nationwide immigration crackdown.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Carlson in pink jacket and Carlson from interview
MPR News

Woman In Pink Jacket Who Filmed Alex Pretti's Murder Speaks Out In Emotional Interview

Stella Carlson, better known online as the "woman in the pink jacket" who recorded the murder of ICU nurse Alex Pretti by ICE agents in Minneapolis, is urging Americans not to let ICE "intimidate" them.

Calls for an investigation have intensified from across the political spectrum after analysis of multiple videos showed ICE officers removing a handgun from Pretti—a weapon that authorities said Pretti was permitted to carry but was not handling at the time—before fatally shooting him.

Keep ReadingShow less
A photo of purse with "See you later" and a waving hand
Photo by Junseong Lee on Unsplash

People Break Down The Real Reason They Stopped Liking Someone But Never Told Them

Not every relationship is a forever deal.

Sometimes it's best to just let people go.

Keep ReadingShow less
Jordin Sparks; Halle Berry
Gary Gershoff/Getty Images; Kate Green/Amazon MGM Studios/Sony Pictures Entertainment/Getty Images

Fans Defend Jordin Sparks After She Publicly Asks Halle Berry To Read Her Screenplay About Menopause

You miss one hundred percent of the shots you don't take, and singer Jordin Sparks put that philosophy into action at the end of January.

Halle Berry has been a household name in Hollywood for the last few decades, and now in the middle of her life, she's loudly advocating for increased representation and awareness around women's health and women's experiences, especially what happens to a woman's body during perimenopause and menopause.

Keep ReadingShow less