The motto always is and forever will be, protect Black women!
As reported on Madam Noire, a white official in North Carolina was fired because he refused to refer to an African-American woman as Doctor.
Tony Collins was removed from the Greensboro Zoning Commission by the City Council for his disrespect toward a Black associate professor at UNC-Greensboro. Collins wouldn’t call Dr. Rosario “doctor.” The incident happened last week at the end of a lengthy Zoning Commission meeting. During the meeting, Dr. Rosario talked about her concerns about a new development project nearby. Collins said Dr. Rosario was going off-topic and referred to her as Mrs. Rosario. She immediately corrected him and said, “It’s Dr. Rosario, thank you, sir.” Collins ignored her and said, “If Mrs. Rosario has something…” She corrected him once more, and he said, “Well, you know, I’m sorry. Your name says on her ‘Carrie Rosario.’ Hey Carrie.”
Dr. Rosario stated her correct name and told Collins, “I wouldn’t call you Tony, so please, sir, call me as I would like to be called.” That’s when Collins got rude and distasteful. He said that her name doesn’t matter, and she told him that it does. Dr. Rosario said, “It matters to me. And out of respect, I would like you to call me by the name that I’m asking you to call me by.” At this point, Collins still refused. He replied, “Your screen says, Carrie Rosario.” Take a look:
Dr. Rosario maintained a level of being classy and stern, while Collins was nasty and unnecessary. A portion of the exchange was played during a City Council meeting, and it was determined that Collins would be relieved of his duties as zoning commissioner, Mademe Noire reports.
City Councilwoman Sharon Hightower led the charge by calling for the removal of Collins. She said, “It was a very disrespectful exchange between an important commissioner and a public citizen. That should never happen.” During an interview with McClatchy News, Hightower said, “As a Black female, I am not going to see another Black female treated in this manner.”
Dr. Rosario was “shocked” the council removed Collins but none the less, pleased.