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Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
At disciplinary hearing targeting Black Kansas lawmaker, ancient tropes and selective outrage
Kansas Rep. Ford Carr, D-Wichita, enters a hearing room on April 9, 2025. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector) Rep. Ford Carr and supporters in the gallery for his disciplinary hearing must have felt as though Kehlani and Dreamville penned the lyrics of their haunting 2023 R&B hit 'Shadows,' about them. The hearing unfolded with painful familiarity and hypocrisy. Tropes, hundreds of years old. Ancient double standards. Selective outrage. Those there supporting Carr had decades of the Black experience in the workplace under their belts and, like him, have had to walk around with their defensive dukes up. Jobs are minefields, where your ability to clothe and feed loved ones often is arbitrarily threatened. The song opens: I can tell That there's something lurking in the dark I can tell That you're tryna catch me off guard Carr, a Wichita Democrat, isn't the most sympathetic symbol. Video taken at a Topeka pub in January captured a stream of bile and aggression rarely heard or seen away from a street corner. I've come to know Carr fairly well since he started at the Statehouse, and we've worked together on various projects. He's complex. He's an engineer and a martial artist. He revealed during the hearing how his father was killed. He was accused of a broad pattern of menacing behavior, but he's not the one denying people health care. He's not the one denying children summer school meals. He's not the one hellbent on destroying public education. Claims that he created a negative environment feel galling coming from his accusers. Supporters love Carr's pugilistic style but worry about his defaults to coarse language and physical confrontation. They also know he's on the right side of issues and that he won't show up to a knife fight with pom pons. Supporters also recognize the games his opponents are playing with his House seat, with his character and with his constituents. Like him, they've likely said: And I'm trying my best, my best to keep from going under And it's hard to forget All the rain when we keep hearing the thunder It just feels like shadows keep following me Carr's supporters had a larger concern: how Black people with strong, culturally authentic voices, from Malcolm X in the 1960s to Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett today, get policed. There's always a color tax. Whatever problem you have in this society, if you add Black, your situation worsens. Our mistakes cost us more. Our achievements mean less. Carr touched on this during the hearing. He said of the more than 6,000 people who have served as legislators, only 128 were Black, or 2.13%. That percentage represents more than 90 percent of legislators hauled into hearings like his. The hearing began with an explicit show of force from Capitol police positioned in the corners of the room. The police presence brought back a scene from the book, Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption, where police intimidated a client's supporters before a hearing with police dogs. Many remembered police unleashing dogs on peaceful civil rights protesters. Then, a condescending warning from Committee Chairman Rep. Bob Lewis. 'This is not a political rally,' Lewis said. Lewis controlled everything from meeting times (changed multiple times without concern for Wichita constituents), meeting rooms (changed multiple times) and what evidence he would allow. That exclusion also felt familiar. African Americans represent America's 'exceptionalism' because the rights much of the country sings about while wrapping themselves in the flag, apply to everyone — except us. It's why 'patriots' reflexively oppose civil rights. Whenever they exalt this nation, there sit Black people bearing the scars of America's worst impulses. That's why so many eagerly want to bury evidence of those misdeeds. It is not just that they don't understand. They don't want to understand so they can luxuriate in blissful ignorance of what others must confront daily. We occupy separate realities. Consider the presence of Republican Rep. Leah Howell, Carr's accuser. Howell is a small white woman. She appeared in the same hearing room as the towering Carr, a Black man. Her complaint reminded me of historical dog whistles, some made famous by the racist film Birth of a Nation. Rep. Henry Helgerson, the Democrat whom Carr pushed down during that bar fracas, didn't file a complaint. Howell did so instead. The same bar video showed Howell patting Carr's shoulder as tempers raged. It would seem difficult to claim fear after doing that, but Howell did so, saying tearfully that 'her conscience' compelled her to speak out, adding that she would have done the same thing had a Republican acted in similar fashion. Only, she didn't. In February, Republican Rep. Nick Hoheisel aggressively approached Carr, uttering profanity on the House floor. She filed no complaint. Howell also invoked racism, which felt appropriate given that many Black Wichitans know her district for its overt racism. During the past few decades, a cross was burned in a family's yard; residents protested the disciplining of a white child who had drawn a Confederate Battle Flag; parents hounded an educator for showing a diversity film; Black athletes have complained of crowds racially jeering at them. A mother there said bullying led her daughter to attempt suicide. Suddenly Howell's conscience is calling? Sounds more like selective outrage. Kansas Reflector reported in February for example, how Republican Rep. Patrick Penn joked — from the House floor — about shooting former Democratic Rep. Jason Probst in a conversation with freshman legislator Rep. Kyler Sweely, R-Hutchinson. I guess conscience comes and goes. Probst shared a story on his Substack blog about a racist joke told among a gaggle of Republican representatives. According to Probst, the members enjoyed the following: 'What's the most confusing holiday in Ferguson, Missouri?' Answer: 'Father's Day.' For the record, a 2013 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study found Black fathers were more involved in their children's lives than white or Hispanic fathers. Probst added in the blog: 'They (conservative leadership) actively legislate to silence any dissenting voice. They use the levers of the system they control to enforce compliance. They punish those who refuse to be controlled by the rules.' This is why they wanted to break Carr's will. I felt it in my spirit. I know they try to kill it … That two-faced sh– finished. Don't push me to my limit. And that's the game so many people have faced at work. And I'm trying my best, my best to keep from going under And it's hard to forget All the rain when we keep hearing the thunder I can remember a nugget of weather wisdom I received from a security guard at my first job. As we locked up and stepped out into a cloudy March night, we could hear thunder grumbling in the distance. 'That means spring is near,' he said, pointing into the sky. Maybe. Spring symbolizes renewal and rebirth. Even resurrection for some. A new reality. But for many of us, we only get rain. The thunder hovers like shadows, and our springtime never arrives. Mark McCormick is the former executive director of The Kansas African American Museum, a member of the Kansas African American Affairs Commission and former deputy executive director at the ACLU of Kansas. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Investigation into Wichita representative ends
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – A state representative from Wichita caught arguing with a Wichita City Council member will not be punished. A House committee investigating the incident could not agree whether to dismiss the case or reprimand Rep. Ford Carr. The committee will instead send a written report to the House saying it expects decorum from House members. It centers on a fight in January between Carr and Council member Brandon Johnson over funding for testing at the 29th and Grove contamination site. Video: Wichita leaders' argument becomes aggressive Rep. Leah Howell filed a complaint against Carr, presenting evidence of hostile workplace behavior going back years. Carr disputed the claims, saying his altercation with Johnson was only an argument. 'If two men are engaged in argumentative conversation, if either of those men really decide, really decide that they want to take a swing at the other, there is very little you can do about it. And what that indicates is that neither myself, nor the representative, I mean, nor the councilman was willing to take it there,' Carr said. Carr adds that the situation was worth it because it led to securing the funding in question. For more Kansas news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news by downloading our mobile app and signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track 3 Weather app by clicking here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Kansas House committee punts punishment for Democratic Rep. Ford Carr, opting for admonishment
Rep. Ford Carr, D-Wichita, reviews evidence in a complaint against him during an April 9, 2025, investigative hearing. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector) TOPEKA — A six-member House Select Investigating Committee on Wednesday split votes along party lines and failed to reprimand, censure or expel Rep. Ford Carr for his behavior that included an altercation in a Topeka bar. Instead, the committee of three Democrats and three Republicans voted 5-1 to write a report for the House about the committee's failure to reach agreement, potentially recommending Carr, a Wichita Democrat, be admonished. Rep. Mike Amyx, D-Lawrence, was the lone no vote. The committee will reconvene to approve the report before it is sent to the House, as there was some disagreement about asking for an admonishment of Carr. It wasn't the result Carr expected. Pointing to a complaint he filed against Rep. Nick Hoheisel, a Wichita Republican, Carr said the only options presented were dismissal, reprimand, censure or expulsion. 'It angers me,' he said. 'None of these were options when it was Rep. Hoheisel.' Carr said he expected the committee to split votes 3-3 and send the complaint to the House, where it would require a two-thirds vote to take action. Admonishment had never been on the table, he said. Whatever the term used, Carr said the committee's determination won't change him. 'I represent my people the way I represent my people,' he said. 'I am in no way going to alter the way I represent my people.' He added, referring to the fact he retained his seat after last year's election: 'The people have already spoken. I am going to continue to be me.' Carr has contended that racism and lack of acceptance for a Black man who operates in a different culture fueled the complaint and investigation, all of which the complainant denied immediately in a statement to the committee. Rep. Leah Howell, a Derby Republican, filed the complaint alleging that Carr broke a House rule about using disorderly words while debating legislation. Listed in her complaint were multiple instances that she said indicate Carr's behavior is not in line with the decorum and conduct required of a Kansas representative. 'I want to clarify that this complaint is not about retaliation, partisan politics or personal conflicts,' she said. 'Contrary to accusations that this complaint is racially motivated, the color of skin and political party have absolutely nothing to do with my decision to file this complaint.' Howell pointed to an altercation at the Celtic Fox in Topeka in which video surfaced of Carr and Wichita City Councilman Brandon Johnson loudly arguing and calling each other names. When Rep. Henry Helgerson, an Eastborough Democrat, tried to intervene, he was knocked to the floor, although he refused to press charges. Howell, who is married to a Wichita city councilman, said she considered Carr's words at the Celtic Fox to be threatening. She focused on several incidents that she said make a pattern. 'I will argue that accusing colleagues of racism, calling one of them a racial slur, lying to this committee and that infamous public display of repeated use of racial slurs and aggression by what should be described as an act of battery against two other elected officials can be collectively classified as not only misconduct, but a pattern of violent rhetoric and behavior,' Howell said. Carr, during his 15 minutes speaking to the committee, disagreed with Howell's assessment of what happened in each of the instances she described. 'Not by any stretch of anyone's imagination is it OK for someone white to explain to me my culture and what I should be doing,' he said. 'It is not your place to tell me what I'm supposed to do culturally as a Black man.' He also explained to the committee the cultural difference between the words 'n*****' and 'n***a,' the second of which he said he was using in conversations the committee and complainant highlighted. 'Not once did I use the word n*****,' Carr said. 'That's not a word that we use in my culture. That is erroneous.' Carr also brought out his birth certificate and pointed out that his race was identified as 'Negro' on the Kansas document. Rep. Susan Humphries, R-Wichita, and others on the committee questioned Carr extensively about a comment he made in 2023 on the House floor about a 'House Negro,' which brought Carr an admonition from GOP leadership. But the committee ultimately agreed that incident didn't apply to its considerations Wednesday, except seeing his behavior as part of a pattern. Ultimately, the committee agreed that expulsion was off the table, commenting that such a move was usually connected to a criminal act. Members debated the difference between censuring and reprimanding, but a vote on reprimanding split 3-3 on party lines. Even the idea of writing a report caused some contention, as Humphries waffled at the idea of writing a report that didn't show any concerns with Carr's behavior. 'I seconded the motion, but I'm not comfortable with a report that does not say that we made a finding,' Humphries said. 'We made a finding that we are not going to dismiss, reprimand, censure or expel. Is there any agreement on this committee that there was behavior that was inappropriate?' 'Maybe you don't want to say it publicly,' she added. The committee didn't indicate when it would reconvene to approve the report.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
At tense hearing, Kansas House panel reviews evidence in complaint against outspoken lawmaker
Rep. Ford Carr raises his hand to make an objection during a March 25, 2025, evidentiary hearing into a complaint against him. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector) TOPEKA — Rep. Ford Carr says Republicans intend to slander his reputation and expel him from the Legislature for being a 'scary Black man.' Speaking truth to power, he told Kansas Reflector, 'has a way of making many uncomfortable,' including some of his fellow Democrats. Officially, the House Select Investigating Committee is considering a complaint made by Rep. Leah Howell, a Derby Republican, that alleges Carr, a Wichita Democrat, broke a House rule about using disorderly words while debating legislation. But Carr says he is actually being punished for pointing out racism in the Statehouse and filing a complaint against a Republican who verbally accosted him at his desk during a floor debate. 'I would have to say that when you speak out against racism and the Republican Party, removing you and silencing your voice as a Black man is always the intent,' Carr said in an email. The committee, with three Republicans and three Democrats, on Tuesday heard evidence in Carr's case and on Thursday plans to listen to both Carr and Howell before deciding whether to recommend the House reprimand, censure or expel Carr. Any of those options would require support from two-thirds of House members. The evidentiary hearing was held in a room where the maximum capacity is 45, and a crowd of more than 60 spilled out into the hallway. Most were there to show support for Carr. 'This is an injustice,' said Marcus Clark, pastor at Love Fellowship Church in East Topeka, in an interview before the hearing. 'The reason for our presence and our support is because we believe firmly injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.' He was invoking the famous words of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in talking about the complaint against Carr. 'My hope and prayer is that the support shown here by the community today will be influential, that the support he's receiving from the wider community will be a clear indicator that it's not appreciated how he's being mistreated,' Clark said. Later, the committee chairman would throw the pastor out of the room for clapping. The 24-point list of evidence in the complaint against Carr ranges from comments he made during House debates over the past two years to news articles to video that shows him shouting at a Wichita councilman in January in a Topeka bar. Then, in February, a heated confrontation between Carr and Rep. Nick Hoheisel, a Wichita Republican, brought debate to a standstill. Carr had thanked another Republican for not being too racist to answer his questions. Hoheisel subsequently marched across the chamber, thumped a finger on Carr's desk and told him: 'That's bulls***.' Carr filed a complaint against Hoheisel, but the investigating committee deadlocked in a party-line tie on whether to dismiss or proceed. Howell's complaint alleges Carr violated House decorum during the February exchange. On Tuesday, Carr objected to the presentation of evidence that has nothing to do with the alleged rule violation. He also pointed out that, in order to consider such a violation, someone needed to challenge his remarks during the debate, which didn't happen. Carr said the procedure was '100% out of order.' 'The question before us is do we make up the rules as we go, or do we abide by them?' Carr said. He said the only disruption he may have made was 'after the other member came across the floor, after the other member walked up to me, after the other member put his finger in my face, after the other member uttered profanities in my face —' Rep. Bob Lewis, a Garden Center Republican who chairs the committee, cut Carr off. 'We'll take your objection under advisement,' Lewis said. As Carr made his way back to his front-row seat, he told the crowd: 'You see how they're making up rules.' 'Excuse me?' Lewis said. 'Mr. Carr, there will be none of that. You understand?' 'I do understand, sir. And thank you very much for that point,' Carr said. The committee reviewed evidence in chronological order, which included the recitation by Rep. Susan Humphries, a Wichita Republican who sits on the committee, of an article Carr wrote in 2023 for Community Voice in Wichita. It was titled: 'Yes I Called My Fellow Black Kansas Lawmaker 'A House Negro' and I Regret Nothing.' When Clark, the Topeka pastor, clapped at the conclusion of the article, Lewis demanded he be removed from the room. There were no law enforcement present, but Clark voluntarily got up from his back row seat and resumed clapping as he left. Rep. Dan Osman, an Overland Park Democrat who sits on the committee, asked Lewis if he could inform the committee while reviewing evidence which specific rule violations were under consideration. 'This is getting ahead of ourselves, but the precedent in this body going back to 1951 provides that you can look beyond any specific rule in addressing misconduct,' Lewis said. Carr tried to make another objection about the reading of his quotes from news articles. Lewis told him he should email any objections after the hearing and that Carr would be allowed to testify about them on Thursday. 'I do understand what you're saying and where this is going,' Carr said. The presentation of evidence included two clips taken with smartphones that show a heated shouting match between Carr and Wichita Councilman Brandon Johnson in January at the Celtic Fox, a bar across the street from the Statehouse. Lewis described the evidence as the work of 'videographers,' although he couldn't or wouldn't say who took the videos. Rep. Stephanie Clayton, an Overland Park Democrat who observed the hearing while standing against a side wall, muttered: 'Videographers? Jesus Christ.' At another point, when reviewing comments Carr made in 2023, she could be heard saying: 'This isn't even from this session.' Humphries shot her a glare. When Clayton left the committee room, she paused to tell this reporter: 'If we're bringing up the past, I may have several complaints I need to issue.' She didn't elaborate. Howell, whose complaint said Carr had created an unsafe workplace, sat stone-faced chewing gum in back of committee room as the video from the Celtic Fox showed her gently rubbing Carr's shoulders in an attempt to calm him down.
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Kansas Statehouse bigwigs lay down the law: Call us racist and we'll crush you like a bug
Rep. Ford Carr, D-Wichita, walks through the House chamber on Feb. 25, 2025. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector) Statehouse scraps Opinion editor Clay Wirestone's weekly roundup of legislative flotsam and jetsam. . Kansas Republicans sent an unmistakable message to Democratic Rep. Ford Carr this week: Mess with us, and we'll destroy you. The Wichita-based representative, who is Black, filed a complaint in February against Republican Rep. Nick Hoheisel, who is white. This week a disciplinary panel deadlocked along party lines when considering Carr's complaint. But members had a new issue to consider: Republican Rep. Leah Howell of Derby lodged allegations against Carr. Howell claimed that the Democrat showed 'patterns of violent rhetoric, physical violence, intimidating behavior and derogatory language which is unbecoming of any Kansan, much less a member of the Kansas House.' House Majority Leader Chris Croft endorsed the complaint. I'll tell you what this looks like to me. It looks as though Kansas Republicans have decided to teach Carr a lesson. After not being able to shut him up on the floor, they are now determined to go after his reputation. I'm not saying the Carr is a perfect person. I don't know him and can't say. But I also know that in any workplace with 165 people, you're going to see a variety of personalities and approaches. You could put together quite interesting files on any number of Republican politicians when it comes to their behavior on the floor, in committees and with constituents. The fact that GOP members are doing this against Carr suggests they want vengeance, not justice. You don't have to listen to me about this. You can consider these word from former Hutchinson Democratic Rep. Jason Probst at his Substack blog: 'A few years ago, I was speaking on a bill in front of the entire House of Representatives, when I noticed a group of people from the Republican side of the aisle laughing vigorously. 'It's not unusual for there to be chatter and conversation during floor debate, but this was more than usual. Enough to catch my attention and bother me. 'After the day's session ended, I walked up to the House member at the center of the laughter. I told him I noticed it, and wondered if I had said something so funny that they couldn't help themselves from cackling during a serious legislative debate.' According to Probst, the members were laughing at the following racist joke: 'What's the most confusing holiday in Ferguson, Missouri?' Answer: 'Father's Day.' That's the environment in which Carr works daily in Topeka. That's the environment in which he has refused to tolerate the condescending admonitions of Republican leadership. He won't play along. And now he faces the consequences of standing up for himself and his constituents. I don't think highly of Kansas legislative leadership in the best of times. But this is far from the best of times, and they're making a mockery of the House. Or as Probst puts it: 'It is amazing to consider how weak the powerful really are. They bristle at criticism. They actively legislate to silence any dissenting voice. They use the levers of the system they control to enforce compliance. They punish those who refuse to be controlled by the rules they've written or who chooses to disengage from the systems they've created.' At least House Republicans' tussle with Carr follows familiar Republican vs. Democrat lines. More surprising was an uprising of progressive outrage against Sen. Patrick Schmidt, D-Topeka. Schmidt proposed an amendment to House Bill 2062, which provides 'for child support orders for unborn children from the date of conception.' He asked senators to expand the child tax credit for all of the state's pregnant parents. Republicans ultimately backed his proposal. But Schmidt's move didn't sit well with other Democrats and progressive advocates. 'It is pretty disappointing to hear Senator Schmidt declare himself the most 'pro-choice lawmaker' while simultaneously adding the most anti-abortion language I've ever seen a democratic lawmaker intentionally amend into a bill,' said Melissa Stiehler, of Loud Light Civic Action. Schmidt still voted against the legislation, calling it a 'bad bill, with or without an amendment.' I understand that the politics around reproductive freedoms arouse fierce responses. I understand that this bill can be seen as a 'fetal personhood' law, laying the groundwork for future anti-abortion measures. But Democrats have only nine members in the 40-person Senate. Does attacking one of those nine make long-term political sense? Emporia State University president Ken Hush spoke to the Senate Committee on Government Efficiency on Wednesday, and his remarks were something to behold. He said change at the ESU was needed because community surveys included descriptions of the university as a 'mediocrity,' 'no financial acumen,' 'slow,' 'no accountability,' arrogant,' 'inaction,' 'dictators versus team,' 'low expectations' and 'not data driven.' Well, thank goodness he axed more than 30 staff members, then! I'll tell you who found the whole situation ridiculous and shameful: Emporia residents. Kansas Reflector staff traveled to the hometown of William Allen White on Tuesday for a town hall. Let me tell you, sympathy for Hush and his approach toward revamping the university looked pretty damn scanty. But that's the whole playbook for fiscal vandals like Hush and Elon Musk, isn't it? Cut staff and programs so drastically that they barely function. Then whine that they're being treated unfairly by those who don't realize their visionary genius. In the meantime, Hush enjoys a $9 million earmark from the Legislature to keep cutting. Wouldn't a successful turnaround pay for itself? Associated Press reporter John Hanna, dean of the Kansas Statehouse press corps, posted this important update on Thursday. Looks like U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall was wrong about the crash occurring because of DEI then, huh? I wish I could quit asking all these questions about Statehouse goings-on and Kansas political happenings. But they still swarm around my mind like so many cicadas. What do Republicans have up their sleeves with their proposal for a commission to look at higher education in Kansas? How proud should we be that Kansas has joined the Make America Healthy Again crusade with our very own case of measles? Once again, wouldn't it be great to see Kansas state legislators speak out about the deranged crusade to fire federal employees, now that a judge has ordered many back on the job? Who's afraid of a little satanism at the Statehouse? Freedom of religion means freedom of religion, right? Nah, I'm just kidding there, folks. House Speaker Dan Hawkins has still barred journalists from their traditional spot on the House floor. We've also noticed that his office has stopped sending press releases and notices of news conferences to Kansas Reflector staff. They may want to understand that targeting a particular news outlet for its coverage is unconstitutional. I'm sure it's all an oversight and that email will resume soon. Clay Wirestone is Kansas Reflector opinion editor. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.
