A North Carolina zoning commissioner who repeatedly ignored requests to address a Black woman who holds a doctorate as “Dr.” was removed from his position amid criticism, according to local reports.

Dr. Carrie Rosario took part in a virtual Greensboro zoning meeting on April 20 with the goal of weighing in on a new development she feared might threaten her neighborhood’s drinking water,The Lilyreported.

Rosario, 38, is a professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and has a doctorate in public health, which she feels “adds legitimacy to what I’m saying,” she told The Lily.

Collins again referred to her as “Mrs. Rosario,” and when she corrected him again, he replied, “Well, you know, I’m sorry. Your name said on here Carrie Rosario. Hey Carrie.”

“I wouldn’t call you Tony, so please, sir, call me as I would like to be called. That’s how I identify—” she said, before Collins responded with, “It doesn’t really matter.”

The video clip of the exchange ended after Collins responded: “I’m not trying to be disrespectful, but you’re negotiating something that happened four years ago.”

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Just one day later, Collins was unanimously removed from his position during a City Council meeting, theNews & Recordreported.

During the meeting, Councilwoman Sharon Hightower, who is Black, criticized the exchange, and said it was a display of white privilege on Collins' part.

Rosario later said that she found the exchange “very frustrating,” and that it was not the first time she’d faced such microaggressions.

She told WFMY that Collins reached out on Wednesday to offer an apology, and that she later called him and left a voicemail saying she accepted his apology.

“I let him know I hold no ill will against Mr. Collins,” she said. “This is an enlightening moment we can learn from.”

Collins, a construction contractor and a partner in Collins & Gaylon General Contractors in Greensboro, did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment, but told The Lily that his exchange with Rosario was “out of line.”

“There is no good excuse for my interaction with Dr. Rosario so I will not try to offer one,” he said. “Citizens deserve better.”

source: people.com