Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright says the comments he made about racism and minority groups at a meeting recently are being twisted into "political nonsense."
During a talk at a Greenville Spartanburg Republican Women meeting April 7, Wright called the NAACP and Ku Klux Klan racist groups. He was responding to a question about the Ferguson, Mo., officer-involved shooting.
He told the group the "most racist people in America right now sometimes are even minorities."
"I feel like that (NAACP) is a racist group, as well as the KKK. I don't care about them either," he said during the meeting. "I don't want to be a part of no group that's got something to do just because of your color. I don't think they're right."
He said residents should love their neighbors regardless of their race or political affiliations. He also said that the Sheriff's Office chaplain is African American and "doesn't buy into that mess."
"If we would quit worrying about Democrats and Republicans when we're trying to help people and black and white and just love our neighbors like God told us to, we're going to be better, we're just going to be better."
In an interview with the Herald-Journal, Wright somewhat softened his comments on racism.
He said smaller groups of people who claim to be with the NAACP are "sometimes racist."
"If anybody thinks I don't like somebody because of their race, yeah, that's taken way out of context," Wright said. "It just seems to me that some of the most racist people are minorities. I don't get into the NAACP or the KKK or any other group of people that doesn't like somebody because of their color. Christ made us all the same."
He said Martin Luther King Jr. started the NAACP and was the "only person in history proven to do good stuff without violence."
The NAACP was founded in 1909 by a group of people including W.E.B. Du Bois who came together in response to ongoing lynchings and the 1908 race riot in Springfield, Ill., according to the NAACP website. King was born in 1929.
Michael Brown, president of the Spartanburg NAACP chapter and a county councilman, called Wright's comments "short-sighted, racially insensitive and just ignorant."
"If you look at the history and overall mission and purpose of the NAACP, it's for the political, educational, socio-economical equality for all persons, black, white, green, whatever," Brown said. "Its mission is to eliminate any racial discrimination."
Brown said comments comparing the KKK to the NAACP "smacks you in the face" since the NAACP was formed as a response to lynching.
"This is more than a common Chuck-ism," Brown said.
Brown said the NAACP plans to hold a candidate forum May 2 for all Spartanburg County candidates running for office this year. Wright is running for re-election against challenger Russell Lunch, and both will be invited, Brown said.
Wright dismissed the flap over his remarks as "nothing more than political nonsense."
"It's a desperate attempt to try to smear me but it's not going to work," Wright said "I have a great, great relationship with all the communities in our county."
Karen Martin, a member of the GSP Republican Women, said she missed the April 7 meeting but felt Wright's comments were not out of line.
"I think that Sheriff Wright is correct in labeling any group that makes a decision or has in its mission statement a propensity to support one group of people based on skin color," Martin said. "I don't think this will hurt Chuck Wright in the least."
During a talk at a Greenville Spartanburg Republican Women meeting April 7, Wright called the NAACP and Ku Klux Klan racist groups. He was responding to a question about the Ferguson, Mo., officer-involved shooting.
He told the group the "most racist people in America right now sometimes are even minorities."
"I feel like that (NAACP) is a racist group, as well as the KKK. I don't care about them either," he said during the meeting. "I don't want to be a part of no group that's got something to do just because of your color. I don't think they're right."
He said residents should love their neighbors regardless of their race or political affiliations. He also said that the Sheriff's Office chaplain is African American and "doesn't buy into that mess."
"If we would quit worrying about Democrats and Republicans when we're trying to help people and black and white and just love our neighbors like God told us to, we're going to be better, we're just going to be better."
In an interview with the Herald-Journal, Wright somewhat softened his comments on racism.
He said smaller groups of people who claim to be with the NAACP are "sometimes racist."
"If anybody thinks I don't like somebody because of their race, yeah, that's taken way out of context," Wright said. "It just seems to me that some of the most racist people are minorities. I don't get into the NAACP or the KKK or any other group of people that doesn't like somebody because of their color. Christ made us all the same."
He said Martin Luther King Jr. started the NAACP and was the "only person in history proven to do good stuff without violence."
The NAACP was founded in 1909 by a group of people including W.E.B. Du Bois who came together in response to ongoing lynchings and the 1908 race riot in Springfield, Ill., according to the NAACP website. King was born in 1929.
Michael Brown, president of the Spartanburg NAACP chapter and a county councilman, called Wright's comments "short-sighted, racially insensitive and just ignorant."
"If you look at the history and overall mission and purpose of the NAACP, it's for the political, educational, socio-economical equality for all persons, black, white, green, whatever," Brown said. "Its mission is to eliminate any racial discrimination."
Brown said comments comparing the KKK to the NAACP "smacks you in the face" since the NAACP was formed as a response to lynching.
"This is more than a common Chuck-ism," Brown said.
Brown said the NAACP plans to hold a candidate forum May 2 for all Spartanburg County candidates running for office this year. Wright is running for re-election against challenger Russell Lunch, and both will be invited, Brown said.
Wright dismissed the flap over his remarks as "nothing more than political nonsense."
"It's a desperate attempt to try to smear me but it's not going to work," Wright said "I have a great, great relationship with all the communities in our county."
Karen Martin, a member of the GSP Republican Women, said she missed the April 7 meeting but felt Wright's comments were not out of line.
"I think that Sheriff Wright is correct in labeling any group that makes a decision or has in its mission statement a propensity to support one group of people based on skin color," Martin said. "I don't think this will hurt Chuck Wright in the least."