While a Latina councilmember representing the most diverse county in Maryland aimed to highlight racial disparities in vaccination rates, she was mocked by two people for her accent.
At Tuesday’s Montgomery County Council meeting, member Nancy Navarro spoke critically about the state’s vaccination efforts. But as she spoke, those who watched the virtual meeting heard two people laughing about Navarro’s pronunciation of certain words.
The people — apparently unaware that their comments were being broadcast — were identified as a member of the council’s IT team and a Zoom operator who was contracted through Montgomery Community Media, according to Navarro as per a statement released by MCM.
As Navarro spoke, two people, began laughing.
“I love how her accent comes out and pronounces words (the way) that she thinks they’re pronounced,” a woman said.
A man chimed in: “I heard ‘hologram’ and I was like, ‘That’s kind of interesting.'”
The woman replied with a giggle, “So cute.”
To Navarro, this incident was “just one distinct example of what actually happens on a daily basis in so many different spaces.”
Navarro told USA TODAY she didn’t hear the comments while she was speaking, but when the council took a recess for lunch, she received texts and calls from multiple people who had heard the comments live.
“I was in disbelief,” Navarro said. She later recognized how ironic it was that these comments were made while trying to make a point of the struggles…
