He brought colour into it. He didn't say, pull over all young men. He said young BLACK men. Saying that he's black (this is radio, remember, we can't see his face) doesn't make what he's saying OK, it just puts it in context. This isn't a white Klansman spouting ideas through his hood. It's not an old racist white fart. It's a black man talking about his own community. And I think that is worthy of mention so people get all of the facts.
It certainly sparked some lively discussion in the newsroom today. I was actually called a racist my one of my colleagues and that made me very angry! I didn't bring race into it. How I feel about the story and which facts I think are important to properly tell it, are two completely different things. Mentioning that the councillor is black is not condoning what he's saying. It's stating a fact of the story that I believe people would wonder about.
Followup: Every newspaper that reported the story the next day either included a picture of the councillor or, if not, stated that he was black. It was an important fact of the story. He's discussing race so, his race becomes an issue.