Black lawmakers became incensed Wednesday after a white Alabama lawmaker forwarded what the former group considered an offensive email to 91 other representatives, senators and state employees.

The email compared members of the House and Senate to monkeys fighting in a cage with a banana hanging from the ceiling. It did not specify if it was referring to federal or state government.

"Before long a monkey will go to the stairs and climb toward the banana," a portion of the letter reads. "You then spray all the monkeys with cold water. After a while, another monkey makes an attempt. As soon as he touches the stairs, you spray all the monkeys with cold water. Pretty soon, when another monkey tries to climb the stairs, the other monkeys will try to prevent it...this is how today's House and Senate operates, and this is why from time to time, all of the monkeys need to be replaced at the same time."

Rep. Lynn Greer, R-Rogersville, received the email Wednesday morning from a constituent and forwarded it to other lawmakers with no additional note at 10:01 a.m.

Black lawmakers learned of the email and said it was a racist attack by Greer against them in the middle of a heated redistricting battle.

The House Black Caucus addressed the matter after the Alabama House of Representatives called for recess early Wednesday afternoon.

"This is a sad day for Alabama and a sad for the Alabama Legislature ... we have been subjected to the most racial insult I have ever seen. It is unacceptable and we will not continue to accept this kind of action," said Rep. John Knight, D-Montgomery.

The content of the email is often shared on the internet as a sociology study but no evidence could be found that the study exists. It is often falsely described as a summary of a 1967 study involving rhesus monkeys.

The House reconvened at 7 p.m. about five hours after recess was called and after Greer had apologized. There Rolanda Hollis, D-Birmingham, said the email's mention of spraying monkeys with water drew comparisons to blacks being sprayed by fire hoses during the civil rights movement.

"I just wanted you to know how hurting it was, how disrespectful it was to all people," said Rep. Rolanda Hollis, D-Birmingham. "My father was one of five boys and those five boys were some of the ones who got sprayed in Birmingham. Your email brought back a lot of emotions for the people who fought for the rights of all people. You sending out that email, to me is not an excuse for it. I’ve never in my life seen the racism I’ve seen at the State House."

Greer said Wednesday afternoon his intentions in sharing the email were mischaracterized and that he saw no racial element to the email.

"I forward a lot of emails," Greer said after apologizing to the Democratic caucus. "This is one that has been around for years, and it pertained to a study done quite a few years ago and pertained to the U.S. House and Senate. I got it from a constituent and forwarded it to some friends. It was interesting, but I never dreamed anybody would interpret it as being racist, because it had nothing to do with that."

The letter does not mention racial descriptions and does not refer to a specific House or Senate. Greer forwarded the email to at least one black lawmaker, House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels, D-Huntsville.

When Rep. John Rogers, D-Birmingham, was asked what made him believe the email forwarded by Greer was a racial attack, he said, "I didn't fall off the truck yesterday."

"He didn't write it, but he spread it around," Rogers said. "Everybody knows what he meant when he said 'monkey with a banana.' As far as I'm concerned it's a pimp slap to my face. It was totally racist in intent."

Rogers and Rep. John Knight, D-Montgomery, said the email was indicative of the way black lawmakers are "gaveled over" in regular session.

After news of the perceived slight became public, Greer spoke with both the Democratic and GOP caucuses.

"I apologize if I hurt anybody," Greer said. "From the bottom of my heart I never meant for anybody to interpret it like that."

After the apology, feelings were mixed among black lawmakers.

Rogers said he still believes the email was racist and said, "We forgive but we won't forget."

Rep. A.J. McCampbell, D-Livingston, was one of those who saw the email as hate speech toward black lawmakers such as himself and earlier in the day hinted at court action against Greer. After the apology, McCampbell called the email "a mistake" but accepted Greer's apology. McCampbell also revealed that his daughter had a different view of the email than he did.

"It’s a generational thing," McCampbell said after Greer apologized. "My daughter messaged me and said she read it a totally different way. Didn’t see it as racist at all."

The controversy exploded amid a tense run-up to the end of the Legislative session. Redistricting, prison, autism and budget bills all await final passage, and Democrats have slowed the session in protest of what they consider unconstitutional redistricting maps pushed by the GOP.