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To Silence NAACP Leader, Missouri Lawmaker Turns Off His Mic During Public Hearing

State Rep. Bill Lant was accused of "unprofessional and racist behavior" by a House colleague after he cut off testimony by the president of the Missouri state conference of the NAACP during a hearing Monday night. The president of the NAACP conference also asked Tuesday for Lant, R-Pineville, to be removed as chairman of the House Special Committee on Litigation Reform.



By Crystal Thomas

State Rep. Bill Lant was accused of "unprofessional and racist behavior" by a House colleague after he cut off testimony by the president of the Missouri state conference of the NAACP during a hearing Monday night. The president of the NAACP conference also asked Tuesday for Lant, R-Pineville, to be removed as chairman of the House Special Committee on Litigation Reform.

The accusation followed testimony Monday night about a bill affecting the rights of employees to sue employers for workplace discrimination.

During the hearing, Missouri NAACP President Nimrod Chapel was cut off by Lant after testifying for less than two minutes.

Lant said Tuesday that he was holding to the rules he laid out in his committee and insisted Chapel wasn't staying on topic, and he disputed the allegation of racism.

"I'm the furthest thing from racist in the House there is," Lant said.

According to House Speaker Todd Richardson's staff, and Lant, an invitation to Chapel to speak again on the bill and take questions from committee members will be reissued before the committee votes on the matter. Richardson also said in a statement Tuesday, "I am disappointed with the confrontational nature of yesterday's hearing in the litigation reform committee. The bill being heard is a controversial and difficult issue and needs to be handled in an open and transparent manner."

Lant added that he will not issue an apology to Chapel, but has said he will hold a second public hearing on the bill. As chairman, he also said he did not know when that might be.

Chapel said Tuesday that he was open to speaking on the bill again. However, during a press conference, he asked for a meeting with the governor, the Speaker of the House and called for Lant's removal as committee chairman.

Attempts to reach the governor Tuesday for comment were unsuccessful.

"We as Missourians need some reassurance that what happened to me, what happened to the NAACP, will not happen to them, other individuals or groups that seek redress here at the state capitol," Chapel said during the press conference.

He said he wouldn't comment on whether he is personally seeking an apology. More importantly, he said he was looking for reform on how committees are run, giving more time and notice for people around the state to testify.

During Monday's hearing, testimony on the bill went for more than two hours, and each witness was allowed five minutes to speak, followed by questions from committee members.

"I'm against it," Chapel said, even before he had taken his seat in the witness chair.

"I appreciate you coming back this evening to give people an opportunity to be heard," Chapel said after he sat down in the witness chair. "I think that's important."

Chapel then said he was dismayed that previous witnesses supported the bill, adding that they were in favor of "expanding discrimination."

"Can you please contain your speech to speaking on the bill, sir?" Lant said during the hearing after Chapel had spoken for a minute.

"Oh, but I am," Chapel replied. "Because this is nothing but Jim Crow, this is nothing but Jim Crow. You cannot legalize discrimination on an individual basis and call it anything else."

Chapel spoke for about 30 more seconds, claiming that Missouri was a "laughing stock," and referencing incidents in Ferguson and the University of Missouri, before Lant cut him off, thanking him for his testimony.

State Rep. Gina Mitten, D-St. Louis, who is the assistant House minority leader, immediately protested, saying that each witness had five minutes and Chapel didn't get his allotted time. Chapel also that he wasn't finished.

"I asked the man to speak on the subject," Lant said. "He's not speaking on the subject."

Mitten spoke up again, at which point Lant cut her off, and said, "If there isn't another witness that would like to speak, I will cancel this hearing."

Chapel got up and walked away. Mitten asked if she could ask questions of Chapel. Lant replied, "No, you may not."

Mitten asked Lant if Chapel could return to the witness chair and noted "the only person of color to speak on this bill basically had his mic cut off."

Lant replied by saying that as the chair, he had not recognized her to speak.

In a statement released after the committee hearing on Monday, Mitten said Lant "engaged in unprofessional and racist behavior by silencing Missouri NAACP President Nimrod Chapel as he attempted to testify on legislation that seeks to gut Missouri's anti-discrimination laws."

"Jim Crow is alive and well in Missouri, and Rep. Lant just proved it," Mitten's statement concluded.

Chapel said he agreed with Mitten's characterization of the event.

"I'm the only one that he did that to, I don't know any other way to take it," Chapel said. He said he waited to speak with Lant after the public hearing to see if he was cut short because of "a hot temper or (he) had some issue," but didn't see any indication that Lant wanted to talk.

Mitten later said in an interview that she found Lant's behavior chilling to those who want to participate in government. She said that not all witnesses can come back to Jefferson City easily to testify.

"Putting water on the fire after the house is burned down doesn't help," Mitten said, referring to the invitation to Chapel to return to testify.

She added that as the only woman on the committee, she was "silenced" as well.

A video of the exchange was posted online by the advocacy group Progress Missouri.

(c)2017 The Joplin Globe (Joplin, Mo.)

Caroline Cournoyer is GOVERNING's senior web editor.
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