RIBLIA caucus condemns remarks made by state senator about ECHO Village
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — The Rhode Island Black, Latino, Indigenous, Asian-American and Pacific Islander Caucus released a statement Friday condemning what they said were “prejudiced remarks” made by state Sen. Elaine Morgan after she visited the ECHO Village pallet shelter.
Statement from Caucus Co-Chairs on prejudiced remarks from State Senator Morgan. pic.twitter.com/7J4ycy1srW
— RIBLIA Caucus (@RIBLIA_Caucus) March 14, 2025
In a Facebook post made on March 14 that is no longer available, Morgan said she had attempted to visit the palette shelters and was told that she was “not welcome” by “a Large Dark [sic] skinned man with a lanyard around his neck.”
She added that the shelter had an “overwhelming” smell of cannabis.
In the statement, made by RIBLIA co-chairs Sen. Tiara Mack and Rep. David Morales, the caucus said that the statements made by Morgan were both “uninformed and offensive,” and that disparagement of a staff member at ECHO Village was “unacceptable.”
“We encourage State Sen. Elaine Morgan to accept House of Hope’s invitation to learn more about the compassionate work happening at ECHO Village in order to be better informed about the efforts happening in our state,” the statement read. “There is no place for prejudice in our community.”
In the social media post made by the RIBLIA Caucus, a screenshot of an earlier version of Morgan’s post with different wording was included.
ABC6 News has reached out to Sen. Morgan for comment and is awaiting a response.
