Updated

A Georgia state lawmaker lashed out at fellow legislators Wednesday after her proposal to hang a portrait of Coretta Scott King in the state Capitol died in a committee meeting, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

"It is just like calling Mrs. King a nappy-headed [N-word]," said Democrat Roberta Abdul-Salaam, noting it was worse than radio deejay Don Imus' use of the term "nappy-headed hos." The representative's resolution died in a meeting of the House Special Rules Committee after no one seconded the motion.

The chairman of the committee called Abdul-Salaam's comments an "emotional overreaction," the Journal-Constitution reported.

"Mrs. King was a wonderful person and has done a lot of wonderful things but the [Capitol] venue is designed for people that are involved in the government of the state of Georgia primarily," Republican Calvin Hill told the paper. "And there are a few exceptions, but very few and those were made a long time ago."

Abdul-Salaam plans to lobby Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue to issue an order to hang the portrait in the Capitol. A spokesman for the governor told the paper that Abdul-Salaam should make her request to the Capitol Standards Art Commission, instead.

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