A mayor of a small town in North Carolina has set off a controversy in that state by making racist remarks after losing an election to a Black man. The winning candidate, the local Democratic Party and the state NAACP have all condemned the outgoing mayor’s white supremacist remarks.
White mayor wanted ‘an individual of a superior race’ to win the election
At a recent City Hall meeting in Ranlo, North Carolina, mayor Lynn Black, a white man, spoke of his electoral defeat by challenger Corey Creech, who is Black. “I didn’t hear of any complaints of any wrongdoing or anything,” Black said about the election, in which Creech won with about 58% of the vote. “I did want the outcome of the election a little different. I wanted it to be an individual of a superior race,” Black said. He immediately continued, adding, “and I’m glad to see that we did get one of the superior race still, and that’s the human race.”
‘It exposes ignorance that’s out there’
Mayor-elect Creech, who was present at City Hall when Black made the remarks, believes that the “human race” portion of the comment was merely meant to cover Black’s true intentions. “He did not want to be seen as a racist. He did not want to be seen as a bigot, because he is a deacon in his church,” Creech said, according to the Gaston Gazette. “I took a deep breath when he first said it,” Creech continued. “I think one of the reasons why he said it was because of my presence.” Creech claimed that Black made other offensive comments during the mayoral campaign, such as asking Creech if he came from a “broken home.” Creech said Black’s comments are useful. “His views and his statement actually made things easier for me. The reason why I say that is because it exposes ignorance that’s out there, and hopefully it makes people see how crazy those ideas are.”
Democrats condemn Black; NAACP calls for his resignation
Journalist Philip Lewis reported that the Democratic Party of Gaston County, North Carolina, “condemns this racist behavior” by Black. The North Carolina branch of the NAACP also condemned the remarks, with President Deborah Maxwell stating that “an elected official has a responsibility to serve the full community, not to promote racist ideology or invoke the false and dangerous concept of racial superiority,” according to WCNC. Maxwell said, “This rhetoric is divisive and deeply harmful. It has no place in Ranlo, in Gaston County, or anywhere in North Carolina.” Per WCNC, Da’Quan Love, the N.C. NAACP’s executive director, said, “Mayor Ronnie Black’s comment that ‘he wanted an individual of a superior race’ is not just offensive it is a direct expression of white supremacist ideology.” Love continued, “No leader who openly invokes the myth of racial superiority can credibly serve a diverse community,” and he called for “the immediate resignation of Mayor Black of Ranlo, N.C.”
Whether or not Black resigns, Ranlo will soon have a new mayor. Creech comes into office with the support of a significant majority of Ranlo voters and the support of organizations and members of the public who have all condemned the racist remarks made against him. Nonetheless, the incident indicates that even in 2025, racist ideology is still a force that must be called out and resisted.