While D.C. Councilman Marion Barry apologized to the Asian community for comments he made last month, he may have offended another minority group, Polish people, on Thursday. Barry said the U.S. has had racial tensions since its founding. “The Irish caught hell, the Jews caught hell, the Polacks caught hell. We want Ward 8 to be the model of diversity.” The word “Polack” is a demeaning term that describes people of Polish descent. Barry was attending a meeting with Asian-American advocacy groups at Matthews Memorial Baptist Church where he was expected to apologize for comments he made at an election night victory party.
In April, Barry said, “We gotta do something about these Asians coming in, opening up these dirty shops. They got to go. I’ll say that right now.” David Chung, a member of the city Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs Commission, attended the event and says the meeting opens a path for dialogue and for working together. He plans to work with Barry in continuing dialogue in race relations.
