It's tough to be in the limelight. And D.C. Councilmember Trayon White has had a pretty tough year.
Embattled D.C. Councilmember Trayon White is once again in the news. This time, he's being accused of donating constituent funds to an anti-Semitic organization. White donated $500 from his Constituent Services Fund to sponsor an event for Nation of Islam,widely considered to be a hate group. The Constituent Services Fund is supposed to be used to benefit D.C. residents. The event itself came under public fire when it was reported that the Nation of Islam's leader Louis Farrakhan made a speech stating, "powerful Jews are my enemy." Councilmember Mary Cheh is calling on her colleagues to take action against White. "Now he's stepped over a particular line that may involve a violation of the rules about how you use your constituent services fund," Cheh said. For his part, White is denying any wrongdoing.
"There are some councilmembers calling for me to be censured. I'm going to tell you right now. I'm not going anywhere. I'm not resigning. I'm not stepping down. I'm not going to be quiet. I'm just not," White said.
Earlier this year, White posted a video to his Facebook page accusing a grand Jewish conspiracy of deliberately manipulating the weather in Washington, D.C. He then attempted to get back on good terms with D.C.'s Jewish community by visiting the Holocaust Museum. The attempt fell short, however, when reports came out stating that he left the tour early.
"The media takes a part of a truth and adds some lies in there and try to act like that's the whole truth," White said in a statement. "I actually stayed the entire visit...That's the truth."
This isn't the first time D.C. city officials have come under criticism for their relationship with the Jewish community.
Joshua Lopez, a D.C. Housing Authority commissioner, was also forced to resign after he organized a rally where speakers called D.C. Councilmember Elissa Silverman a “fake Jew” and referred to the Jewish people as “termites.”
What do you think? Should White resign? Do you think he meant any harm? We'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
