Black Lawmaker Mike Hill Calls Jesse Jackson's Commentary a 'Disgrace'

Rep. Mike Hill, R-Pensacola, is speaking out on the comments Rev. Jesse Jackson has made about the state of Florida. Hill, who has joined various other lawmakers and even Gov. Rick Scott himself, is calling Jackson out for his comments where he called Florida an "apartheid state" and likened Scott to famous segregationist George Wallace.

Hill's statement read:

I first came to the Sunshine State as a young Air Force officer, and found a place so beautiful and filled with opportunity I decided to make it my home. When the entrepreneurial spirit took hold, my neighbors and colleagues embraced my new venture without prejudice or discrimination. In the decades since, I have been blessed with a loving family and a community where people are treated with respect.

When Jackson uses language that describes us as an apartheid state and compares our governor to one of historys most notorious bigots, he is either hopelessly out of touch or purposefully dishonest.

Just this summer, I, a black man in Florida, was elected to serve in the Florida House of Representatives just about 180 miles away from the bridge in Selma where racism and hatred were violently acted out. I understand the difference between where America was, where it is today, and where it will go tomorrow.

The incidents that unfolded and resulted in the tragic death of a young, black man deserved to be heard in our criminal justice system. They were, and a jury of peers decided the outcome based on our laws and a process that originates in our divinely-inspired Constitution.

For Jesse Jackson to disagree with the outcome of that process is a right and privilege he and every citizen are guaranteed. But for a man who casts himself as a defender of these rights to disparage Florida and our nation with reckless and unfounded commentary is a disgrace.

Jackson has been particularly vocal about his feelings on Florida since a jury acquitted George Zimmerman in the death of Trayvon Martin, which caused uproar and protests across the country. He recently joined the Dream Defenders at the Florida Capitol to protest Stand Your Ground laws.