George Allen's "Macaca" Racial Slur

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Overview of this Controversy


Date Originated: August of 2006
Categories: George Allen & African Americans
On August 11, 2006, at a campaign stop in Breaks, Virginia, near the Kentucky border, Allen twice used the word macaca to refer to S.R. Sidarth, an Indian-American, who was filming the event as a "tracker" for the opposing Webb campaign. Allen apologized, first saying he intended to say "mohawk," an incorrect reference to Sidarth's hair cut. He then revised his story, saying he meant to call Sidarth "caca" and then claiming that he did not know the meaning of the word. 'Macaca' is a pejorative epithet used by francophone colonialists in Central Africa's Belgian Congo for the native population. It is derived from the name of the genus comprising macaque monkeys whose name has also itself been used as a racial slur.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Allen_(U.S._politician)#.22Macaca.22_controversy
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