Members of the Illinois NAACP and other liberal elites called for branch president Teresa Haley to resign after she allegedly made remarks disparaging migrants as “rapists” and “savages.”
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People member Patrick Watson of the Chicago-area DuPage County branch said he recorded a Zoom meeting during which Haley is heard making anti-migrant comments, according to WGN-TV.
The 58-year-old Haley became the first female president of the Illinois civil right group in 2015 and has served six consecutive terms as president of the Springfield, Illinois, branch. She is also currently running for a seat on the NAACP national board.
Haley can reportedly be heard saying on the recording that “Black people have been on the streets forever and ever and nobody cares because they say that we’re drug addicts, we got mental health issues. But these immigrants have come over here, they’ve been raping people, they’ve been breaking into homes, they are like savages, as well.”
Watson, 40, said he is outraged by these comments and insisted that “to have an Illinois state president engage in that type of rhetoric and that type of speech” is something he “could have never imagined.”
The DuPage NAACP member also claimed that in another meeting, Haley made fun of people who want to be called by certain “pronouns.” Though he did not have a recording of the comments, he claimed she said of pronouns, “they, them, it, what the hell is that?”
Watson is not the only person to speak out against Haley’s comments.
On December 12, Democrat Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker also condemned Haley’s rhetoric.
“Reprehensible remarks,” the billionaire governor said. “I would hope that she would apologize for the remarks. I also think that people should recognize that immigrants in this country are all around us.”
Watson has resigned from the Illinois NAACP in protest because the organization has not done anything to censor or fire Haley. He said that he cannot be part of an organization that would allow a person like Haley to be a state leader.
“We’ve had immigrants who’ve been shot at, we’ve had immigrants who’ve been killed. We have had people who have been beaten up because of their immigration status, and enough is enough, it’s time to stand up and say no to hate,” Watson said.
However, Watson also admits that he has clashed with Haley since he became a member of the organization. “I’ve definitely not had a good relationship with her in the past because I’ve raised questions about things, questions about certain behavior,” he said.
NAACP state branch secretary Carla Jackson-Campbell said the organization is evaluating the accusations, but has no statement otherwise.
Reached by phone while on a trip to Dubai, Haley told WLS-TV that she never made the comments Watson accuses her of making and even seemed to suggest the AI could have faked it.
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