美国国家公共电台 NPR--The fallout lingers in Los Angeles over a racism scandal that has engulfed City Hall

The fallout lingers in Los Angeles over a racism¹ scandal that has engulfed² City Hall

Transcript³

A racism scandal has embroiled⁴ politics in Los Angeles. The political fallout has ballooned since three council members were heard in a secret recording⁵ engaging in racist⁶ conversation.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

Los Angeles, Calif., where a racism scandal has engulfed City Hall. Three council members were secretly recorded having a conversation filled with racist, anti-Black and anti-Indigenous⁷ language. And just a warning - we're going to hear some of that in this story. The council members are now facing calls to resign, including from President Biden. Here's NPR's Adrian Florido.

ADRIAN FLORIDO, BYLINE⁸: The L.A. City Council president, two of her council colleagues and a union leader, all Latinos, were heard on the tape denigrating⁹ Black people. They also insulted Indigenous immigrants from Mexico, and they discussed ways to increase Latino political power in the city while taking it away from African Americans.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: Let us in. Let us in. Let us in.

FLORIDO: Yesterday, a large crowd came to City Hall for the first scheduled council meeting since the tape emerged. For two hours, they berated¹⁰ the council and demanded that three members heard on the tape - President Nury Martinez, Kevin de Leon and Gil Cedillo - resign their council seats. Lori Condinus, a local Black activist¹¹, was appalled¹² that Martinez had called a Black child a monkey on the recording.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

LORI CONDINUS: Nobody's child in this chamber¹³ is a monkey - nobody. That language - unacceptable, the anti-Blackness - unacceptable, the anti-immigrant language - unacceptable.

FLORIDO: Suyapa Maldonado said it had pained her to hear the Mexican American council president calling Indigenous Mexicans short, dark and ugly.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

SUYAPA MALDONADO: (Speaking Spanish).

FLORIDO: "I come from an Indigenous background," she shouted, "and we're being trampled¹⁴ on by the people we elected. They have to resign." Redeem¹⁵ Robinson, a local pastor¹⁶, said he was insulted by parts of the recording in which the council members discussed ways to gain political power for Latinos while prying¹⁷ it away from Black people.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

REDEEM ROBINSON: We have people on this city council who are conspiring¹⁸ to disenfranchise Black voters. I've got a problem with that.

FLORIDO: None of the three council members recorded on the tape have resigned their seats, though few people in LA think their careers will survive this. The recording has unleashed¹⁹ a reckoning likely to alter the trajectory²⁰ of LA politics forever, says Manuel Pastor, who directs the Equity²¹ Research Institute at the University of Southern California. The recording, he says, has been a deep affront²² to the values many Angelenos hold dear.

MANUEL PASTOR: This is a city that has prided itself on coalition²³ building.

FLORIDO: Especially in the three decades since the police beating of Rodney King, a Black man, sparked the LA riots and exposed deep racial divisions in the city. Communities have worked hard to heal those wounds - and now this.

PASTOR: These Latino political leaders were thinking about enhancing Latino political voice by diminishing Black political prospects²⁴. That's really damaging to the trust that needs to be built between communities for successful struggles for social justice.

FLORIDO: Outside City Hall on Tuesday, Anthony Bryson, an activist, said the work to rebuild that trust will need to start again.

ANTHONY BRYSON: I hope that the Black and brown solidarity²⁵ within the community can be strengthened, and we can see that the community members are here for each other, even if our leadership is not.

FLORIDO: On City Hall's steps, he was connecting with other local leaders who, he said, share that same goal. Adrian Florido, NPR News, Los Angeles.

1 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

2 engulfed   

v.吞没，包住( engulf的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was engulfed by a crowd of reporters. 他被一群记者团团围住。
• The little boat was engulfed by the waves. 小船被波浪吞没了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 embroiled   

adj.卷入的；纠缠不清的

参考例句：

• He became embroiled in a dispute with his neighbours. 他与邻居们发生了争执。
• John and Peter were quarrelling, but Mary refused to get embroiled. 约翰和彼得在争吵，但玛丽不愿卷入。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

6 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

7 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

8 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

9 denigrating   

v.诋毁，诽谤( denigrate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They bristled at his denigrating description of their activities. 听到他在污蔑他们的活动，他们都怒发冲冠。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The KGB pigeonholed his report and reprimanded him for denigrating a brother officer. 克格勃把他的调查报告扔在一边，不闻不问，反而说他往同志脸上抹黑。 来自辞典例句

10 berated   

v.严厉责备，痛斥( berate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Marion berated Joe for the noise he made. 玛丽昂严厉斥责乔吵吵闹闹。 来自辞典例句
• It berated Mussolini for selling out to Berlin. 它严厉谴责了墨索里尼背叛、投靠柏林的行径。 来自辞典例句

11 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

12 appalled   

v.使惊骇，使充满恐惧( appall的过去式和过去分词)adj.惊骇的；丧胆的

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• They were appalled by the reports of the nuclear war. 他们被核战争的报道吓坏了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

14 trampled   

踩( trample的过去式和过去分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯

参考例句：

• He gripped his brother's arm lest he be trampled by the mob. 他紧抓着他兄弟的胳膊，怕他让暴民踩着。
• People were trampled underfoot in the rush for the exit. 有人在拼命涌向出口时被踩在脚下。

15 redeem   

v.买回，赎回，挽回，恢复，履行（诺言等）

参考例句：

• He had no way to redeem his furniture out of pawn.他无法赎回典当的家具。
• The eyes redeem the face from ugliness.这双眼睛弥补了他其貌不扬之缺陷。

16 pastor   

n.牧师，牧人

参考例句：

• He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
• We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。

17 prying   

adj.爱打听的v.打听，刺探（他人的私事）( pry的现在分词 )；撬开

参考例句：

• I'm sick of you prying into my personal life! 我讨厌你刺探我的私生活！
• She is always prying into other people's affairs. 她总是打听别人的私事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 conspiring   

密谋( conspire的现在分词 )； 搞阴谋； （事件等）巧合； 共同导致

参考例句：

• They were accused of conspiring against the king. 他们被指控阴谋反对国王。
• John Brown and his associates were tried for conspiring to overthrow the slave states. 约翰·布朗和他的合伙者们由于密谋推翻实行奴隶制度的美国各州而被审讯。

19 unleashed   

v.把（感情、力量等）释放出来，发泄( unleash的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The government's proposals unleashed a storm of protest in the press. 政府的提案引发了新闻界的抗议浪潮。
• The full force of his rage was unleashed against me. 他把所有的怒气都发泄在我身上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 trajectory   

n.弹道，轨道

参考例句：

• It is not difficult to sketch the subsequent trajectory.很容易描绘出它们最终的轨迹。
• The path followed by a projectile is called its trajectory.抛物体所循的路径称为它的轨道。

21 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

22 affront   

n./v.侮辱，触怒

参考例句：

• Your behaviour is an affront to public decency.你的行为有伤风化。
• This remark caused affront to many people.这句话得罪了不少人。

23 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

24 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

25 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。