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On Thursday, July 13, a Republican from the state of Arizona named Eli Crane referred to Black Americans as “colored people” during a Congressional meeting. During the session, several lawmakers of the state were debating a series of Republican-backed amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act, including the one proposed by Eli Crane himself.
The House aims to pass the bill by the end of this week. But before that could happen, Eli Crane, a former Navy SEAL, found himself amidst controversy.
“My amendment has nothing to do with whether or not colored people or Black people or anybody can serve. It had nothing to do with any of that stuff,” he said.
His use of the term “colored people” was considered unparliamentary by former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Democrat Joyce Beatty who immediately asked for the expression to be removed from the record.
For those unaware, the Congressional Black Caucus is a political action committee (PAC) that aims to increase the number of African-American members in the US Congress.
Eli Crane was a Navy SEAL for over a decade
According to eliforarizona.com, the official website of Republican Eli Crane, he is a combat veteran who served with Navy SEAL Team 3 on five wartime tours, three of them to the Middle East. In fact, he was on duty for nearly 13 years safeguarding America’s freedom, way of life, and the Constitution.
The 43-year-old native Arizonan was elected as the US Representative from Arizona’s second congressional district in early 2023. A loyal Republican, Eli Crane is also a small-scale business owner with his wife Jen Crane.
It is based in Tucson and called “Bottle Breacher” and manufactures bottle openers made from 50 caliber shell casings. It aims to employ and serve war veterans all across the USA. The successful company was featured on Shark Tank.
Through his company, Eli Crane helps local businessmen and employees in Arizona and tries to address their problems by introducing policies such as low taxes, less regulation, and backing pro-growth and pro-job ventures.
Besides being a politician, combat veteran, and entrepreneur, Eli Crane is also a loving husband to his wife Jen, and a doting father to his two daughters. He is pro-Christian, pro-life, and pro-second amendment and is often seen standing up against cancel culture and the radical left.
He is also the brand ambassador for the Arizona-based Sig Sauer firearms and is an ex-member of the National Advisory Committee on Veteran Business Affairs. The community builder also supports various vet organizations.
Eli Crane faces backlash for his “colored people” remark
On Thursday’s Congressional debate, Eli Crane addressed African-Americans as “colored people” which was deemed as objectional, first by former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Democrat Joyce Beatty, and later by the netizens when the video of him speaking surfaced on the internet.
After his “colored people” remark, Eli Crane further added how his proposed amendment would prohibit the National Defense Department from taking into consideration aspects such as race, gender, religion, political affiliations, or “any other ideological concepts” as the sole basis for recruitment, training, education, promotion, or retention decisions.
“The military was never intended to be, you know, inclusive. Its strength is not its diversity. Its strength is its standards...You can keep playing around these games with diversity, equity, and inclusion. But there are some real threats out there. And if we keep messing around and we keep lowering our standards, it’s not going to be good.”
Despite making certain valid points, it was his “colored people” comment that invited negative attention. In fact, right after he finished his speech, Democrat Joyce Beatty from Ohio demanded that the phrase he used be “stricken from the record.” She further stated:
“I find it offensive and very inappropriate. I’m asking for unanimous consent to take down the words referring to me or any of my colleagues as ‘colored people’.”
However, the 73-year-old Joyce Beatty wasn’t the only one who found the term derogatory. As soon as the video of Eli Crane saying “colored people” became viral, netizens, including politicians, united to slam him. Here are some of the comments.
What’s interesting here is that, when Joyce Beatty insisted that the “colored people” remark be removed from the record, Eli Crane interjected with a request to change it to “people of color.” However, his claim was denied and the term was stricken off unanimously.
Later, when asked for comment about his choice of words, Crane told NBC News that he “misspoke.” His statement also included:
“In a heated floor debate on my amendment that would prohibit discrimination on the color of one’s skin in the Armed Forces, I misspoke. Every one of us is made in the image of God and created equal.”
Earlier, Joyce Beatty criticized Eli Crane’s amendment, saying it “undermines the freedoms for us to learn about one another, for us to hire one another, for us to understand our cultures.”
She also hinted that Republicans like Crane were setting the country back and that she was old enough to remember when Black people and women were not allowed to serve, which was not that long back. Interestingly, The House passed Crane’s amendment on Thursday night in a 214-210 vote.
The incident happened during a congressional debate over the annual National Defense Authorization Act which has already been facing controversies this year over several proposed amendments such as on abortion, transgender rights, and diversity, and inclusive initiatives within the US government.
