[June Griffin]
Cleveland Condemns Newspaper After 'Racist' Column
Bill Estes and six other Cleveland councilmen publicly condemn the March edition of "The People News of Bradley County."
"It was so heinous and over the top, something had to be said," says Councilman Bill Estes, who brought the issue up at this week's meeting.
The council passed a resolution disapproving the paper and it's [sic] writer June Griffin.
In her column titled "A Female Manifesto", Griffin writes that she is "mad at the Blacks[sic]."
She goes on to write, "Your music is awful, for instead of the beautiful hymns which our forefathers taught you...you have turned to the filthy and unclean authors of confusion from New Orleans and called it a good sound...I have sought to do business with the Black People and have suffered long with them often enduring their late payments, accepting their excuses and praying with them to be prospered to pay their mortgage."
"I would call it racist speech and certain parts of our society would certainly call it hate speech," says Estes.
Griffin is a regular columnist for the People News of Bradley County, which has a circulation of about 10,000. The free newspaper can be picked up at places all throughout Cleveland, including the inside of the Bradley County courthouse.
In 2006, Griffin pled not guilty to violating a shop owners [sic] civil rights. She was accussed [sic] ripping down a mexican flag which she says offended her citizenship [sic].
Drew Robison is a prominent Cleveland prosecutor.
"It's trying to incite people and I just have a hard time dealing with that," he says.
"I commend Bill Estes and the City Council for saying that this type of hate speech is not going to be tolerated."
Neither Robinson or Estes want to speak to Griffin directly. What they want is for Cleveland businesses to do the speaking for them, and stop carrying the People News.
http://www.wdef.com/news/cleveland_c...column/03/2008