Republicans shout down and boo Black colleagues who speak about discrimination on House floor
Tensions flared at the Indiana Statehouse Thursday when Republican lawmakers shouted down and booed Black lawmakers during floor debate on a bill that some see as discriminatory.
Rep. Greg Porter, D-Indianapolis, walked off the House floor after several Republican lawmakers loudly objected to his warnings of discrimination in House Bill 1367. Porter, a member of the Black caucus, said the bill would allow students in a St. Joseph County township to leave the South Bend Community Schools, which are racially diverse, to join a nearby school district that’s smaller, more rural and made up primarily of white students.
Republicans deny the bill is discriminatory. The bill’s author, Rep. Jake Teshka, R-South Bend, said it’s about transportation issues.
Teshka said many students in Greene Township are already attending John Glenn Schools and allowing the area to disannex from South Bend schools could resolve some issues around transportation.