“We know what these folks really want to say when they say DEI mayor,” Scott told The Banner. “They really want to say the N-word.”

Mayor Brandon Scott has come to expect overt and not-so-overt racism.

The latest example came in the aftermath of Tuesday night’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse. Within hours, Scott said he started to notice social media posts labeling him as a “DEI Mayor.”

Scott immediately bristled at the dog whistle.

“We know what these folks really want to say when they say DEI mayor,” he told The Banner. “Whether it is DEI or clown. They really want to say the N-word. But there is nothing they can do and say to me that is worse than the treatment of my ancestors. I am proud of who I am and where I come from.”