Joann Grimsley made history as the first black mayor elected in Midland City this week. The accomplishment comes with a racial slur posted on the Facebook page of Mayor Patsy Skipper, who lost the election to Grimsley. The post read: “I lost. The ni**er won.”

“All I can say is I’m going to pray for her, because the people of Midland City want justice in whatever we do,” said Grimsley.

Others shared their reactions.

“We all have red blood, and I just don’t believe it was right for her to say that and post it on Facebook. It was wrong,” said Midland City resident Judy Whitehead.

“I think discrimination is what it is, because I was raised around black people,” said her husband, Roy Whitehead.

“I think it’s typical,” said another resident, Eusebio Rodriguez. “Since I’ve been here, there’s been a lot of talk like that going around. I’ve been to a few council meetings, and you can sense that’s the kind of attitude the people that were in office had.”

Skipper first agreed to meet with WDHN reporter Valencia Jones at City Hall today, but later said she had strep throat and could not make it. She did say her Facebook account had not been used in a few days and denied posting the racial slur. Skipper also wanted to relay to the public that “she has black friends.”

“Is this my mayor? I mean, really, is this my mayor who represents me today. Really? I hope she resigned yesterday, if she’s trying to do what’s decent and right,” said District 3 Midland City Councilman George Williams.

Not everyone is buying into the Facebook hacking scenario.

“What are the chances of that? I probably have a better chance of getting struck by lightning. Whoever believes that, let them believe that, but I don’t think so,” Williams said.

“That’s expected out of her. We’ve been dealing with her husband [Former Mayor Virgil Skipper] for a couple of years now, and we expect that from her, but I think it’s uncalled for,” said Albert Gomez, another resident.