‘CHOSE MY WORDS POORLY’

Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts Apologizes for Calling Black Leaders ‘You People’

His comment came during a meeting to discuss the shooting death of a young black man by a white bar owner during weekend protests.

Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts is apologizing for calling black leaders “you people” after being shamed for the remark online. “I chose my words poorly, and apologized when it became apparent that I had caused offense,” the Republican said in a statement. A Baptist pastor brought Ricketts’ comment to light, posting a video online in which he recounted walking out of a meeting with city leaders to discuss the shooting of a young black man by a white bar owner during anti-racism protests over the weekend. “Pete Ricketts said, ‘The problem I have with you people,’” Pastor Jarrod Parker said, according to the Omaha World-Herald. “He called black pastors and black leaders in Omaha, ‘You people.’” The county prosecutor chose not to charge Jake Gardner in the shooting death of James Scurlock, deeming it a case of self-defense. Parker called Ricketts a “racist” and said, “That’s why the city is going to go up in flames.”