Sep 01, 2020

Councilmember O'Dell addresses photo and recent work session

Posted Sep 01, 2020 9:39 PM

St. Joseph Councilmember At-Large Kent O’Dell joined host Barry Birr on the KFEQ Hotline Tuesday morning to address reaction to a photo that resurfaced and circulated online over the weekend.

The photo of the Deputy Mayor showed him in blackface, dressed as Aunt Jemima, at a Halloween party eight years ago. 

“Of course I would never do anything like that today the way the tensions are and the way the movements are going,” O’Dell says. “We’re finally getting some notice to that to where police and everybody can start recognizing everybody as a person instead of a color and anytime we can possibly do anything like that, I support that 100%. I have African American in my family, I have Mexican in my family, I have a lot of cultures in my family and all my friends and everybody else, I want them all to be treated equally.” 

O’Dell also addressed an incident during the city council’s work session on Zoom last week during the public comment time.

“Something that happened inside my house while I was on mute, I snickered about while somebody was talking and they thought I was laughing at them and that’s the last thing I’d do, I take every comment seriously,” O’Dell says. “Everybody in this council and the mayor, all are concerned, we read all the emails, we read all the comments, we talk to people in stores, we talk to people in gas stations, telephone, we do research on our own, we talk to doctors, scientists and professors and we are truly trying to do what’s best for our city.”

O’Dell says he plans to focus on the future and get back to work for the city of St. Joseph to tackle current issues including those related to the pandemic.