Nonprofit exec in W.Va. fired for racist Facebook post about Michelle Obama that mayor supported

Clay County (Wikipedia)

The director of a government-funded nonoprofit in rural West Virginia has been fired after referring to First Lady Michelle Obama as an "ape in heels" in a Facebook post, and the mayor has been criticized for posting support of the post, Ali Schmitz reports for the Charleston Gazette-Mail. Pamela Ramsey Taylor, an employee of the Clay Development Corp. in Clay County, wrote the post last week and was fired Monday. County Mayor Beverly Whaling responded to the post by posting, "Just made my day Pam."

WCHS-TV reports Whaling apologized on Facebook and said, "My comment was not intended to be racist at all. I was referring to my day being made for the change in the White House! I am truly sorry for any hard feeling this may have caused! Those who know me, know that I am not in any way racist!"

Jason Hubbard, a councilman in the city of Clay, told Schmitz that the corporation is not affiliated with the city. He said the issue would be discussed tonight at a previously scheduled meeting. An online petition was started last weekend to have Whaling removed from office, but an official petition requires signatures from registered voters in the city.

The town of Clay has about 500 people and the county has about 9,000. Only 0.2 percent are African American, notes Lindsey Bever of The Washington Post. About 77 percent of county voters supported Donald Trump in last week's election, John Ra reports for The Associated Press. "In 2012, President Obama received 31 percent of the county vote when Republican Mitt Romney easily carried the state."