Thread: Woe to the one who raises the issue of racism in the Kansas Legislature

Take care not to be seen as uppity when chastising your fellow legislators.


Rep. Valdenia Winn of Wyandotte County may be effectively censored for that transgression. All because she unleashed a lesson in institutionalized racism while testifying against a bill in March.


The bill was tabled. It sought to repeal a 10-year-old law allowing some immigrants to pay in-state tuition at colleges and universities. Republicans on the education panel were ticked off by Winn’s testimony. Nine signed a complaint for what they term her “offensive, reprehensible” language.


“I’m a highly educated, strong, outspoken African-American female,” said Winn, a Democrat. “This is an attempt to silence me.”




GOP complaint spurs Kansas House review of member's remarks
Winn got off on the wrong foot at the beginning of the March 19 committee hearing. She used the r-word: racism.


“This is a racist, sexist, fearmongering bill,” Winn began her testimony. “I want to apologize to the students and their parents whose lives are being hijacked by the racist bigots who support this bill because this bill is not an act of …”


At that point, Winn was halted by Rep. John Barker’s objection: “She just referred to this committee as racist.”


No, she did not. Other members hadn’t voted their support of the bill yet.


But in a heated debate, subtleties are lost. Especially when people don’t have a baseline understanding of how bias can weave its way into policy and law. And that apparently includes the two African-American GOP members who also signed the complaint.


Winn has been a history professor at Kansas City Kansas Community College for 42 years. She earned her doctorate at the University of Kansas.


“I am trying to talk in historical terms and they are taking it personally,” Winn said.


The episode came during a hearing about a Kansas bill affecting students who are usually called Dreamers. About 650 such students are currently enrolled in Kansas, the vast majority at community colleges. Most were brought to the country illegally as children by their parents. To pay the in-state rate, they need to have graduated from a Kansas high school and be seeking legal status, among other qualifications. Many actually have a temporary legal status through a federal executive order.


The complaint to censure Winn, a rare procedure, will be heard at 2 p.m. Wednesday by a panel of six representatives chosen by House Speaker Ray Merrick. The panel can dismiss the complaint, reprimand, censure or kick Winn out of the Legislature.


Let’s hope it doesn’t come to anything more than continued reflection by everyone.


The complaint was signed by Reps. Ron Highland of Wamego, Jerry Lunn of Overland Park, Tony Barton of Leavenworth, John Bradford of Lansing, Willie Dove of Bonner Springs, Dennis Hedke of Wichita, Charles Macheers of Shawnee, Marc Rhoades of Newton and Barker of Abilene.


Institutionalized racism is not easily explained. And raising the word racism alone is enough to cause brains to shrink and shut down.


Winn continued her comments, trying to show that repealing the Kansas law would unfairly affect a small group of immigrants, taking away their ability to pay for a college education. Many such students are female, hence her mention of sexism.


She noted fearmongering because people often mistakenly claim that migrants will cross the border to gain the in-state rate and that enrolling them will draw more migrants. No. They come for work. No one drags their kid across a desert, dodging drug cartels, with the grand goal of that child someday becoming a Jayhawk or a Shocker.


The Kansas Board of Regents has repeatedly testified against efforts to repeal the law allowing these students to pay in-state tuition. Because most of the students are from poorer families, the state would simply lose their tuition money if the law was repealed. The students would lose their future.


In a perfect legislature, people who make laws governing everyone would have a firm grasp of the damage that institutionalized racism has caused and still holds within society. They would understand that kind people, people without flagrant prejudices, exist within biased systems. But they are swept up by the current as policies play out to harm or favor one group over another.


Cooler heads would have taken the route of trying to sit down with the professor and grasp her points. But that’s not what we’re dealing with in Topeka.


To reach Mary Sanchez, call 816-234-4752 or send email to msanchez@kcstar.com. Twitter: @msanchezcolumn.


http://www.kansascity.com/opinion/op...#storylink=cpy

House pursues formal complaint against Kansas City, Kan., Democrat Valdenia Winn


Nine GOP members file objection to comments by Winn


Posted: March 31, 2015 - 5:36pm
A House committee scheduled a hearing Wednesday to investigate the formal complaint by nine representatives against Democratic Rep. Valdenia Winn for allegedly making "offensive and reprehensible" statements during debate on college tuition legislation.


A House committee scheduled a hearing Wednesday to investigate the formal complaint by nine representatives against Democratic Rep. Valdenia Winn for allegedly making "offensive and reprehensible" statements during debate on college tuition legislation.


By Tim Carpenter
timothy.carpenter@cjonline.com
A House committee scheduled a hearing Wednesday to investigate the formal complaint by nine representatives against Democratic Rep. Valdenia Winn for allegedly making "offensive and reprehensible" statements during debate on college tuition legislation.


Six House members -- three Republicans, three Democrats -- will convene the Select Investigating Committee to sort through Winns' comments March 19 during the House Education Committee's discussion on a bill repealing a Kansas law allowing children of illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition rates at public colleges and universities.


The complaint authored by Rep. Ron Highland, the Wamego Republican and chairman of the education committee, asserted Winn improperly used "inflammatory language and inferences toward the committee or anyone who would support the bill."


After an immediate objection was raised during the committee hearing by Rep. John Barker, an Abilene Republican, to Winn's commentary on House Bill 2139, the complaint said, "she continued with additional language that was offensive and reprehensible."


Several advocates of the repeal bill, which was tabled by the House panel, are among members calling for a formal House inquiry.


Here is the Statehouse exchange between Winn and Barker that sparking the investigation:


Winn: "I have dreaded this day because this is a racist, sexist, fear-mongering bill. I would like first to apologize to the progressively minded people of Kansas who are appalled that we are turning back the hands of to, and I'm going to use strong language, Jim Crow tactics. And, once again, making Kansas a laughingstock. I want to apologize to the students and parents whose lives are being hijacked by the racist bigots who support this bill, because this bill ---"


Barker: “Mr. Chairman, I object. She just referred to this committee as racist.”


Winn: “I said supporters. You know what, you can do anything you want, but I am going to say what I have to say."


Barker: “I object."


Winn: "If the shoe fits ... it fits. This is an example of institutional racism."


At that time, Highland didn't invoke his authority as chairman to silence Winn.


Legislation written to repeal the in-state tuition policy has been debated by the House and Senate for the past decade, but insufficient votes have existed to drop the benefit for children of undocumented immigrants who lived in Kansas at least three years, graduated from an accredited Kansas high school and took steps to begin the process of becoming a U.S. citizen.


About 650 of these students are enrolled at technical schools, community colleges and state universities under direction of the Kansas Board of Regents. They pay approximately $2.5 million in tuition to attend these public institutions.


Winn wasn't available to comment on the complaint by her Republican peers, but House Majority Leader Jene Vickrey, R-Louisburg, said the House had previously assigned the special committee to examine conduct of representatives.


"It's healthy to keep us working together and keep our decorum polite," Vickrey said. "The members of the committee are very reasonable. They are colleagues of mine who have a lot of experience."


The six-person committee consists of Chairwoman Erin Davis, R-Olathe; Rep. Mark Kahrs, R-Wichita; Rep. Sharon Schwartz, R-Washington; Rep. Tom Sawyer, D-Wichita; Rep. Barbara Ballard, D-Lawrence; and Rep. Brandon Whipple, D-Wichita.


Legislators signing the complaint against Winn, who is African-American, were all drawn from the House Education Committee. Two of those GOP members, Reps. Tony Barton, of Leavenworth, and Willie Dove, of Bonner Springs, also are African-Americans.


Other Republicans signing the document, in addition to Highland and Barker, were Rep. John Bradford, of Lansing; Rep. Jerry Lunn, of Overland Park; Rep. Charles Macheers, of Shawnee; Rep. Mark Rhoades, of Newton; and Rep. Dennis Hedke, of Wichita.


Tim Carpenter can be reached at (785) 295-1158 or timothy.carpenter@cjonline.com.
Follow Tim on Twitter @TimVCarpenter. Read Tim's blog.


http://cjonline.com/news/state/2015-...t-kck-democrat

The demands of illegal aliens are tearing our country apart. I guess this was part of the Master Plan.

I think Mary Sanchez is probably most racist person in this discussion.

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