The only thing that’s changed in the last 500 years, says Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, is the speed at which racists can spew their hatred.
Sunday night, Scott shared a direct message he received on Instagram showing the mayor with a red nose and accompanied by these words: Another F***ING RACIST PRICK HOPE TRUMP AUDITS YA NASTY A– GO EAT A F***IN BANI.”
“The years may change, but the racism stays the same,” Scott wrote. “These folks are emboldened by this current federal administration. Although the internet is now the place they spew their vile hatred, their vocabulary clearly has not evolved much over the last 500 years. BTW, I eat two bananas a day to help keep my mind and body strong in the fight against racism, sexism, or any type of hatred.”
Scott’s supporters assured the mayor that they have his back.
“Imagine living with such a hateful spirit based on their own shortcomings,” wrote one. “Pray for those beneath you & keep being a trailblazer.”
“Oh Mayor, I STAND WITH YOU!!” added another. “Please stay strong!!”
Scott is familiar with such bigoted attacks. After last April’s collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge into the Patapsco River, Scott, in accordance with his job as mayor, raised his profile with several appearances on national news programs.
Without hesitation, racist attacks were launched against the Black, then-39-year-old mayor, including one that stuck from a right-wing influencer who called Scott “Baltimore’s DEI Mayor.”
“It’s going to get so, so much worse. Prepare accordingly,” the troll posted on X.
Phil Lyman, a Utah Republican running for governor, included Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, who is also Black, in his attack on non-white leadership. “This is what happens when you have Governors who prioritize diversity over the wellbeing and security of citizens,” Lyman wrote.
For the record, DEI programs had nothing to do with the bridge’s collapse. Moore and Scott also couldn’t be blamed, as both were in their first terms at the time. And Baltimore elects its mayor, just as Marylanders elect, not hire, their governor.
In a 2024 interview with former MSNBC host Joy Reid, Scott rebutted accusations that he had been handed his role simply based on his race.
“What they mean by ‘DEI,’ in my opinion, is duly elected incumbent. We know what they want to say. But they don’t have the courage to say the N-word,” Scott said.
The mayor has continued to defend DEI even as Republicans attack it. Scott, on behalf of the city, filed a 42-page federal lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Maryland, saying the DEI orders issued during the first 100-hour blitz of Trump’s second term are unconstitutional.
On Friday, a federal judge sided with the city, temporarily blocking a Trump administration order seeking to ban diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
U.S. District Court Judge Adam Abelson wrote, “As Plaintiffs put it, ‘[e]fforts to foster inclusion have been widespread and uncontroversially legal for decades.’ … Plaintiffs’ irreparable harms include widespread chilling of unquestionably protected speech.”
The stay came just one week before school systems in Maryland and beyond were facing a deadline to determine whether they must alter key aspects of their operating procedures in response to a recent memo from the U.S. Department of Education. It is uncertain how long the judge’s reprieve will remain in effect.
Scott vowed to continue the fight “with every legal tool available.”
“Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts were never about providing opportunities to unqualified individuals but about ensuring that qualified individuals from diverse backgrounds were not passed over for those less qualified who met the status quo,” Scott said in a statement posted on social media Saturday.
