This letter was addressed to state Rep. Todd Richardson, speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives.
As you are aware, during a February 13 hearing of the House Special Committee on Litigation Reform, Chairman Bill Lant cut off Missouri NAACP President Nimrod Chapel as he attempted to testify against legislation that seeks to severely weaken the Missouri Human Rights Act and refused to allow Chapel to finish his testimony.
Video of the incident is posted online and clearly shows Chapel acted appropriately at all times and provided no cause to justify Lant’s shameful behavior. Based on the video, it seems the trigger that set Lant off was that Chapel simply said things Lant didn’t want to hear.
Put another way, a white man abused his power to stop a black man from expressing a contrary view – and on legislation that seeks to turn back the clock on Missouri’s anti-discrimination laws, no less. This situation is simply dripping in irony. In his silencing of the NAACP president, Lant proved that discrimination continues to thrive in our state and demonstrated the need for strong laws protecting our civil rights.
As unfortunate as this incident was, it was not Lant’s first offense. As you may recall, during a February 1, 2016, hearing of the House Workforce Standards and Development Committee, of which Lant was then chairman, he contemptuously refused to allow state Rep. Clem Smith, the committee’s ranking Democrat and only black member, to question a witness. This incident was also captured on video and posted online.
So, we now have two incidents in which Lant has abused his authority as committee chairman to silence black men. It does not appear that Lant has a similar history of treating white witness and committee members with contempt or disrespect.
A pattern seems to be forming, and it is not one you can allow to continue. In demonstrating that he is incapable of treating all people with respect, Lant has proven himself unworthy of the privilege of a chairmanship. Therefore, I respectfully request that you replace him as chairman of the Special Committee on Litigation Reform.
State Rep. Gail McCann Beatty (D-Kansas City) is the Missouri House Minority Leader.
