President Joe Biden has called for the resignation of three of the Los Angeles Council members, including the former Council president, after a recording of their participation in a meeting in which racist language was used to make fun of coworkers while they plotted to preserve Latino political strength in Council districts 

What steps will the Los Angeles City Council take next?

Raphael Sonenshein, executive director of the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at California State University, Los Angeles, said, "I have never seen anything like this."

To get to a point where people will conduct business regularly is the true problem right now, according to Sonenshein. “This chaotic situation is going to be very visible ... both here and nationally.”

The Council will attempt to meet again on Wednesday, perhaps to punish the three people Biden mentioned. During a meeting on Tuesday, a boisterous crowd of protesters who were demanding the resignations of the participants—Democratic Councilmen Kevin de Leon and Gil Cedillo and former City Council President Nury Martinez, who is on leave—filled the chamber.

The Council can only suspend a member while criminal proceedings are pending; it is unable to eject the members. There is no suspension or removal from office following a censure.

A leaked audio recording of ugly, racist remarks from a meeting that took place about a year ago and revealed City Hall's ethnic rivalry was what initially set off the uproar. All of the attendees at the meeting were Latino.

Martinez claimed in the conversation that white Council member Mike Bonin treated his young Black kid like a "accessory" and described him as "like a monkey" in the recording, according to the Los Angeles Times on Sunday. Additionally, she called Bonin a "little bitch."

Martinez, the first Latina to be elected president of the City Council, referred to native immigrants from the Mexican state of Oaxaca as "tan feos," or "so ugly," at another point in the hour-long recording.

The topic of the conversation, which also featured a significant Latino labor leader who has since left, was safeguarding Latino political strength during the process of redistricting, or the redrawing of council district lines. One faction may be pitted against another during the once-every-ten-year procedure to gain political benefit in upcoming elections.

The recording was shared on Reddit by a user who has since been suspended, according to The Los Angeles Times. Who made the audio recording, who posted it to Reddit, and whether anyone else was present are all unknown.

The opening of Tuesday's meeting was delayed by a large crowd of demonstrators in the elaborate Council chamber who yelled passionately for de Leon and Cedillo to leave. Close to the edge of the crowd, police officers scurried.

As demonstrators yelled his name for him to leave the room, De Leon sat motionless with his eyes averted at his seat. Others on the 15-member Council pleaded with the throng to calm down so that the meeting could start.

On Monday, Martinez resigned from her position as leader and apologized, stating she was ashamed of the racially inappropriate language she used on the previous year's recording. She did not, however, give up her council seat. She stated on Tuesday that she will need to take a leave of absence "to spend some time with my family, my constituents, and community leaders to have an honest and meaningful discourse."

She did not attend the meeting on Tuesday.

In politics, Black and Latino voters frequently form partnerships. However, conflicts and rivalries between groups divided by racial, geographic, political, or religious differences have a long history in Los Angeles and, in fact, the entire nation. The conflict can extend to housing, education, employment, and even jails, in addition to the benefits of political power.

The recording "reveals an appaling effort to decentralize Black voices during the crucial redistricting process," according to the California Legislative Black Caucus.

Protestors in L.A after the audio tapes were leaked

A long line of attendees at the conference in one of the most diverse cities in the country claimed that the revelation of the surreptitiously taped discussion brought back memories of the Jim Crow era and was a glaring display of "anti-Blackness."

Investigations and redistricting law revision were demanded.

Many of the critics were Latino and claimed that their own leaders had failed them.

In tearful remarks at the meeting, Bonin expressed his hurt feelings about the recorded conversation. He bemoaned the harm done to his little son and the fact that the city had made headlines throughout the world due to the use of racist rhetoric. He once more demanded the resignation of his colleagues, saying, "I'm sickened by it."

He once declared, "Los Angeles is going to heal." "I want to lead with love."

The president wants Martinez, de Leon, and Cedillo to step down, according to Karine Jean-Pierre, the press secretary for Biden.

"The language used and accepted during the talk was abhorrent and inexcusable. All of them ought to resign, Jean-Pierre stated.

The latest in Cancel Culture: LA Council audio leaks with racist commentary

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