Frank apologizes for 'hoodie' comment at graduation ceremony
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Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Barney Frank is apologizing for an off-handed comment he made about the Trayvon Martin case during a graduation ceremony Sunday.
"You now have a hoodie you can wear and no one will shoot at you," Frank said after black civil rights leader Hubie Jones received a hooded academic robe as part of an honorary degree awarded by the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.
“I think you’ll feel pretty protected by that,” Frank added.
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The comment drew groans from the crowd.
Martin was the Florida teen who was wearing a hoodie when he was shot and killed by a neighborhood watch activist.
The retiring congressman said he has used the line at other graduation ceremonies and that it was meant to "ridicule the notion that a hooded sweatshirt is somehow sinister."
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Jones said he didn't think Frank meant any harm.
Campus Chancellor Jean F. MacCormack introduced Frank as a “long-time champion of fairness” with “uncommon wit.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.