by Chase Rogers
A recent Facebook post by the mayor of Woodcreek saying the Black Lives Matter movement is a “threat to our lives” sparked protests and condemnation from other elected officials in Hays County.
Her post was referring to demonstrations following the death of George Floyd, a black man who was killed by Minneapolis police on Memorial Day.
“I’m not a racist,” Mayor Gloria Whitehead said in the now-deleted series of posts to her personal Facebook, also stating the movement is “not about Black Lives, what have they ever done but denounce AMERICA.”
Whitehead continued in the posts to tie Black Lives Matter to socialism, communism and Marxism as well as the Black Panthers and the Weather Underground.
In a special-called meeting June 10, more than a dozen protesters calling for Whitehead’s resignation were stationed outside of the city council’s meeting. Wimberley Democrats and Wimberley Indivisible had helped organize the protest, according to reporting by the Austin American-Statesman.
The Wimberley Democrats release a statement Saturday, further calling for Whitehead’s resignation.
“She has to go,” the post reads. “A public servant cannot openly be a bigot. … The mayor should resign. I do not believe that she can run Woodcreek with her personal biases.”
Elected officials in Hays County have come out to decry the posts, including State Rep. Erin Zwiener.
“As a fellow elected official, I am disappointed to see this,” Zwiener said. “Black lives matter, full stop, and every single person in power should be stepping up to make sure they’re treated as such.”
Zwiener offered to sit down with Whitehead and discuss the situation and how her rhetoric is harmful to the Black community.
Whitehead became the mayor of Woodcreek in 2019 in an uncontested race and her term is set to expire in November 2021.
