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In this photo from Wednesday, March 27, 2019, signs posted on the doors of the Baptist Church of Bolten Street are visible during a coordinated meeting to garner support from a black candidate in the Savannah Town Hall Race in Savannah, Georgia. The organizers of a meeting to discuss an upcoming mayoral race in Georgia banned reporters from attending, unless they are African-Americans. (Eric Curl / Savannah Morning News via AP)
Organizers of a community meeting held Wednesday night in Savannah, Georgia, to discuss the mayor's next mayoral race, allowed black journalists to attend.
The organizers of the meeting at the Bolton Street Baptist Church, hosted by Reverend Clarence Teddy Williams, reportedly placed posters saying "Black Press Only" on the church doors.
At least two black reporters and the editor of an African-American newspaper have been allowed to enter, Savannah's Morning News reported. TV crews were also banned from entering.
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Williams did not return Fox News's request for comment, but an announcement for the Trigon group's Facebook meeting, owner of the Williams consulting firm, indicates that the event is for "Black Media ONLY!".
Mr. Van Johnson, a Savannah City Council member and one of three candidates for the Black Mayor to have announced campaigns to date, attended Wednesday's meeting at the Baptist Church in Savannah. Bolton Street. Johnson then stated that he shared "my vision of an inclusive Savannah, a progressive Savannah".
Asked by WTOC-TV that only black reporters are allowed in, Johnson said, "This is not my meeting. Once again, I was asked to come and make a statement, so I came and made a statement. "
Johnson released Thursday on Facebook a revised statement calling for the organizer's decision to ban some "unfortunate" journalists and stating that he was expressing his concerns about them.
"I have expressed my concerns to the organizers of this event because my service history in this community has ALWAYS been a story of inclusion, partnership and communication," Johnson said in a statement. "Although this group's decision is regrettable, I'm working on the day we trust each other enough to be inclusive in all of our meetings."
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Louis Wilson, who claims to be a mayoral candidate after an unsuccessful campaign in 2015, also attended the meeting.
Regina Thomas, a former Georgia senator and one of the incumbent Mayor's black challengers, missed the church meeting on Wednesday. She added that the meeting had seemed to split and had been scheduled too early in the campaign. The deadline for the registration of candidates for the race is August 23rd. Thomas said that she also had a scheduling conflict: her Bible study group met Wednesday night.
Wednesday's meeting in Savannah was aimed at reuniting the city's black community behind a single mayoral candidate in the November 5 election.
Mayor Eddie DeLoach wants to be re-elected this fall. He became the first white mayor of Savannah in 20 years after winning the 2015 campaign. The elections for Savannah's highest office are non-partisan, which means that all of the candidates who qualify end up on the ballot. November.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
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