NAACP: Resident must say 'sorry' for racial slur
Calling councilman an 'Uncle Tom' has 'polarized' the city
BY CHRISTINE VARNO Staff Writer

LONG BRANCH- Community leaders are asking that city resident Vincent Lepore apologize after calling Councilman David Brown an "Uncle Tom" at a council meeting last month.

Lorenzo W. Dangler III, president of the NAACP of the Greater Long Branch area, appeared at theMarch 11 councilmeeting in thewake of a verbal exchange between Lepore and Brown at a February public meeting.

Lepore reportedly referred to Brown as an "Uncle Tom," a statement that Dangler said has "polarized" the community.

"LePore went far beyond the office or position of Councilman David G. Brown and attacked his very person as aman,"Dangler said. "We also believe that once you go beyond the clothes and attack the flesh, it's personal.

"We submit that this is whatMr. LePore did and should apologize to Councilman Brown publicly.

"We are strong supporters of the Fourth Amendment, which governs the freedom of speech, but we take issue with anyone who would dare to publicly voice such an unwarranted racist remark against anyone," Dangler said.

Brown said after the meeting that LePore does not have to extend an apology.

"I believe in what I have done and I believe inmy vision," Brown said. "For Vincent to disagree with me is his prerogative.

"Calling me names won't get me to change anything. Calling names isn't going to get anything accomplished," he said, adding, "The matter is finished."

The term"Uncle Tom" is based on a character in "Uncle Tom's Cabin," an anti-slavery novel written by Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852. Tomwas a loyal slavewho loved his cruel master. Uncle Tom is now used as a racial slur.

LePore, an active member in several community groups and part of the anti-eminent domain movement in the city, speaks regularly at council meetings.

LePore never turns down a chance to discuss "good government" and to argue his position publicly, according to Dangler, who said, "We feel strongly on this issue that he stepped across the line."

At the Feb. 28meeting, LePore was criticizing the city's redevelopment plans before turning to Brown and referring to himas an Uncle Tom.

"The fact that any man today could dare to think that he could get awaywith publicly hurling a racial slur at a blackman inAmerica is evidence that we may be in the 21st century; however, there are people who still have a 20th-centurymind-set,"Dangler said.

"The FourthAmendment provides us the opportunity to vent our displeasurewith the noted policies or individuals, but we are never to go beyond the person's office or position and to attack himpersonally,"Dangler said. AveryGrant said that the racial slurwas discussed at the Concerned Citizens Coalition (CCC) meeting this month, a community group of which Lepore is an active member.

"Wewere very disgusted by the comment from Vinny," said Grant, president of the CCC. "We never address council with those types of terms.

"I can understand his frustration,"Grant added. "Itwas a heat of themoment. It is not just a one-way street.

"There is a lot of frustration that goes on. We need to understand that this is a twoway street.

"We need to cooperate.We need to argue and fight. And then we need to [get along with council] like we used to," Grant said.

Another regular at the councilmeetings, Harold Cooper, said that LePore brings a "wealth" of information to council.

"I would hate to see Vincent be shortchanged because of name-calling," Cooper said. "I charge our elected officials to bemore cognoscente of how the residents feel.

"Please be more considerate of each other," Cooper said.