African-American leaders took offense yesterday at Mayor Bloomberg’s use of the word “thuggish” to describe chiefs of the striking transit union.
“These are hardworking people,” said the Rev. Al Sharpton. “They get up at 3 o’clock in the morning to drive buses and trains . . . and now they’re thugs?”
Sharpton drew a parallel between the predominantly African-American transit workers union and Martin Luther King Jr.’s fight for civil rights.
When he was assassinated, “Martin Luther King Jr. was in Memphis, Tenn., defying a court order, supporting the sanitation union strike,” Sharpton said.
“No one calls Martin Luther King a thug.”
Roger Toussaint, president of the striking TWU Local 100, also took umbrage at Bloomberg’s use of the word.
“The minute the transit workers stand up for their rights and for their dignity, we are then called thugs, selfish, greedy, [and] overpaid – by a billionaire,” Toussaint said.
City Councilman Charles Barron (D-Brooklyn) said the mayor’s use of the word “thuggish” was racist.
“We resent the idea that you would characterize a predominantly black and Latino union as a bunch of thugs,” Barron said.
“It’s despicable to inject race into this situation,” countered Bloomberg spokesman Ed Skyler.
In the past, many black leaders – including Barron and the Rev. Herbert Daughtry – have used the word “thug” to describe white attackers in bias crimes.
The word stems from a Hindi word used many centuries ago in India to describe a band of thieves and killers.