West Virginia town tries to move past Michelle Obama post
ASSOCIATED PRESS
First lady Michelle Obama welcomes guests and the winners of the 2016 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award, Tuesday, in the East Room of the White House in Washington.
CLAY, W.Va. >> As a small West Virginia community tries to move past the backlash of a racist Facebook post that targeted first lady Michelle Obama, a council member had some inviting words for outsiders who look down on her town.
“Come see us,” Joyce Gibson said. “Spend a day with us. If I knew you would come, I would bake a cake. We’re very decent people.”
Clay Mayor Beverly Whaling resigned Tuesday and the Town Council later met to accept it. The resignation came after another woman whose post Whaling responded to was placed on leave as director of the nonprofit Clay County Development Corp.
The council meeting was brief, with councilman Jason Hubbard reading a statement condemning the “horrible and indecent” post. He apologized on behalf of the town to Michelle Obama and anyone who was offended.
“Please don’t judge the entire community for one or two individual acts,” Hubbard said.
The council plans to act quickly to name a replacement for the remaining three years of Whaling’s term.
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“She was a good mayor, I thought, and she knew how to get things done,” Gibson said. “It’s just a shame that this has happened. But, you know, there could be good things come out of it.”
She doesn’t know what that will be or how the town will repair itself “unless we just go day by day to live like we have lived,” Gibson said.
Clay County Development director Pamela Ramsey Taylor made the post following Republican Donald Trump’s election as president, saying of incoming first lady Melania Trump: “It will be refreshing to have a classy, beautiful, dignified First Lady in the White House. I’m tired of seeing a Ape in heels.”
Whaling responded: “Just made my day Pam.”
Whaling later issued a written apology to news media outlets, saying her comment wasn’t intended to be racist.
“I was referring to my day being made for change in the White House! I am truly sorry for any hard feeling this may have caused! Those who know me know that I’m not in any way racist!”
Taylor, who told WCHS-TV on Monday night that she was put on leave, did not return a call seeking comment.
Gibson said the post gave the town of about 500 residents a label it didn’t want. After news of the post circled the globe, the small office’s voicemail system quickly filled to capacity with irate callers. An online campaign calling for Taylor and Whaling to resign drew tens of thousands of responses.
The nonpartisan town council has five members, plus the town recorder and mayor. Whaling’s seat was empty during Tuesday’s meeting in a small office attended by a few local residents along with several journalists and some people from outside the area who said they wanted to see justice served.
Annie Thacker of Barrackville drove 117 miles to the meeting.
“I saw what was happening in small town West Virginia,” she said. “I’m from small town West Virginia. I wanted to see hate put down in West Virginia, especially after this election cycle. Everyone’s watching.”
Lish Greiner of Belpre, Ohio, said she had volunteered during flood cleanup in West Virginia over the summer and returned for the town council meeting because “I will not tolerate hate in my home and in my area.”
Clay County Development, which provides services to elderly and low-income residents in the county, is funded through state and federal grants and local fees. It is not affiliated with the town of Clay, which is about 50 miles east of Charleston.
The uproar occurred as the town is still trying to recover from severe flooding in late June along the nearby Elk River. Clay County also has been hit by hundreds of layoffs in the coal industry this decade.
Gibson was asked what was worse, the flood or the attention from the Facebook post.
“I’ll have to think about that,” she said. “This (backlash) will go away.”
39 responses to “West Virginia town tries to move past Michelle Obama post”
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Trump has empowered the racists!
White Crackers are very stale. Saltines
dumb comment
Racist comment!
I’ve never used the “N” word, how racist could my comment be? I’m white as a Casper is.
O is a racist so let us move on..I have.
Keoni, your position has nothing to do with this article…stay on point
advertiser1..you folks LOST in a LANDSLIDE so you’re in no position to tell anyone including your pets what to do.
You need to get your party together which is really in disarray.
Um, if you lost the popular vote by close to a million, a landslide of electoral votes is nothing to be proud of. It’s like winning on a technicality.
The whole nation is trying to move beyond this pathetic story. A couple idiots say something offensive and it gets days of national coverage? It’s not news, let the gossip mags handle this stuff. And no it’s not indicative of our society, there’s a small percent of dumb people out there why give them an audience?
Agree that this story received way more attention than it deserved but in this day of social media and 24/7 news coverage on the internet I’m not surprised. Whether it’s indicative of our society or not really depends on your definition of “indicative”. I don’t believe most people are hateful towards any race, but I do believe most people hold racially biased views to some extent.
We live in angry times.
Really went ballistic back in 2009 in Cambridge Mass…the Beer Summit…from that point it went downhill.
Feel sorry for the town, but maybe something good can come out of this bad incidence. Tourist will come out of curiosity and their presence will create jobs and the revival of the town’s economy!
michelle is a bigot and a racist that hates america..
after barry was elected she said that for the first time in her life she was proud to be an american..
what was she proud of before that?
but still no reason to call somebody one ape…sorry apes
aloha!
She this when he was nominated, not when he was elected.
deepdriver311 you need to come up for some air.
No you guys need to see that the Obamas are encouraging racial animosity too.
Thank God that is justyourview371.
I think it’s too late. The lack of oxygen has obviously left a lasting effect.
Got some bubbles in his brains.
Bingo, where were these followers of the Pied Pipers when this was reported: “For the first time in my adult lifetime I am proud of my country?” Seems like Michelle was brainwashed by her Pied Piper Jerimiah Wright. You keep heaing things then you believe it’s the truth then anything could happen. So we see, Michelle finally appreciated America when Barry got elected! lol, keep on listening to your Pied Pipers and follow them into the burning pit. lol
O’s a racist too like his spouse. Let’s all move on now ok.
Obama a racist? The first president of color, a racist? Lol. The majority didn’t like him because he didnt look like all the other president. Racist? Cmon man.
You obviously missed his racist rant during the camapign…which was also a story here. You were at the beach?
Look no further than BLM. “smh”
“I was referring to my day being made for change in the White House! I am truly sorry for any hard feeling this may have caused! Those who know me know that I’m not in any way racist!”
Boy, talk about denial!
This Taylor should have resigned as well. They embarrassed the City of Clay.
What’s encouraging is that the town recognized that what was said by people in elected and appointed authority was wrong. They apologized and took steps to correct it. That’s the right thing to do and they have done it.
A careless slip of the tongue?
O never apologized for his racist rant on hiLIARy’s campaign trail..remember that?
“Whaling later issued a written apology to news media outlets, saying her comment wasn’t intended to be racist.”
I wish people would just admit their wrongdoing rather than try to cover it up. Almost all of us hold racially biased views, it’s part of being human. It doesn’t necessarily make you a bad person. Just like when you see a fat, ugly person you’d have preconceptions about them. Why would race be any different? To deny that post was racist is absurd. Just admit it was racially motivated and be done with it. I’m pleased with the reaction by the surrounding community to this incident, though I think this received way more media attention than it deserved.
Why is it that Democrats can say nasty things about Republicans, but Republicans can’t say the same things about Democrats?
Huh? How long have you been asleep?
Still asleep.
Obama out.
Drop mic
its not racial its slander because she never said the word black, all she said was the first lady looks like she is an ape in high heels, the word black was mot used so its only slander not racial the AP and SA that print this story are telling lies and half truths as usual.
I viewed Pamela Taylor’s comments a reflection of her own views, and not the views of the other residents in her community. Her comments also showed very poor judgment. Clay County Development receives Federal grants – I pay Federal taxes. I’m hoping that she resigns or is terminated.