Hoschton Mayor Theresa Kenerly said “the city isn’t ready for this”

The small Georgian town of Hoschton is in the news for all the wrong reasons. Both the town’s mayor-Theresa Kenerly- and one specific council member- Jim Cleveland- are being asked to resign over racist comments.

The matter began when a local media investigated the mayor and found out Kenerly has willfully rejected a candidate for a job due to the sole reason for being black. The mayor admitted to a council member that the black candidate was fully qualified for the job, but he would not get employed as he is black. According to the politician’s decidedly skewed sense of logic, Hoschton city is a predominantly white town, and they would not accept a black person in an authoritative position.

When asked, Mayor Kenerly denied all accusations. Her alleged comments, however, were defended by Jim Cleveland, a Councilman. He claimed in his interaction with a reporter that he is a Christian and the people of the faith do not marry between the races. The politician defended his views by saying that he was brought up believing in such principles. Cleveland said that he has many black friends and regularly hires African-Americans for jobs. He does not like it when he sees whites and blacks living in the same house as shown on TV. The council member claimed that his blood boils when he sees the union of between a black and white in popular media. To him, such a scene directly contradicts his Christian principles.

Both the mayor and the council member were swiftly condemned by many residents of the Atlanta metro area. Things have now come to such a pass both of them were told to resign from their respective posts. Susan Powers, a Councilwoman, described the two’s conduct as “reprehensible” and the two should not take part in the city administration. African-Americans in the town were not amused. One of them, Shantwon Austin, said that he did not relocate to Hoschton to face such racism. Mayor Kenerly declined to give a response while Cleveland continues to be defiant. He said that all those who want him to quit must mount a recall election. He will resign only if his constituents take the electoral route to vote him out.

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