She was black.
Knight Ridder Sacramento Bureau
SACRAMENTO - A lawmaker who had called for Education Secretary Richard Riordan to resign for joking with a 6-year-old that her name meant ``stupid, dirty girl'' abruptly backed off Thursday after mistakenly suggesting that race was a factor in the quip.
Assemblyman Mervyn Dymally, D-Los Angeles, canceled a news conference today with civil rights groups after learning that the girl subjected to Riordan's joke was white, not African-American.
An aide to Dymally said the assemblyman had seen conflicting news accounts of the girl's race. In a press release canceling the news conference, Dymally, who is African-American, said Riordan had apologized to clergy in Los Angeles for the gaffe.
``It should be noted that race is not a factor in this issue,'' Dymally said in the statement, stressing that he wanted to meet with Riordan to further discuss the matter. ``It is time for us to move on.''
...
Riordan later apologized for the joke. And Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called the comments ``unacceptable in any context'' but said he was satisfied that Riordan's apology was sincere.
On Wednesday, Dymally, D-Compton, was far from satisfied, saying the Republican governor should seek Riordan's resignation. At the time, Dymally told the Mercury News that Riordan ``needs to do more than just apologize. And I have to inject: This was a little African-American girl. Would he have done that to a white girl?''
Isis' mother, Trinity Lila, was baffled both by Riordan's statement and Dymally's actions.
``Does it matter that she's white?'' asked Lila, who isn't sure if Riordan should step down, given his apologies. ``If he feels that the man should step down, does it matter that she's white?''
More: SJ Mercury News (reg. required)
Riordan: (prepares next idiotic foot-in-mouth blunder)