DUPAGE COUNTY, Ill. – On a recent call, the DuPage County NAACP president said he was absolutely stunned when one of his civil rights colleagues called migrants rapists and savages.
A county president for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is demanding the resignation of his state conference president on Tuesday.
Patrick Watson of the DuPage County says Teresa Haley of the Springfield branch should step down after stunning anti-migrant comments.
Watson says he recorded a Zoom call featuring Illinois NACCP branch presidents back in October.
“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.”
Teresa Haley
“Thinking of the rich history of the NAACP as an organization – it’s the oldest civil rights organization in the country and to have an Illinois state president engage in that type of rhetoric and that type of speech, I can’t imagine — I could have never imagined I would have heard that from a civil rights leader,” Watson said.
On Tuesday, Governor Pritzker condemned Haley’s comments.
“Reprehensible remarks. 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,” Gov. Pritzker said.
Watson claims this is not the only time Haley has made offensive remarks. Although he does not have a recording, Watson says on another call Haley mocked the idea of people choosing the pronoun that fits them.
“Someone on that call, she said, they wanted her to call them ‘they, them, it, what the hell is that?” Watson said.
Watson says he’s contacted the NAACP’s National Board and they’re looking into the matter.
WGN-TV reached out Teresa Haley for comment and we’ve not heard back. Nexstar’s WCIA-TV, reports Haley is traveling overseas.
Meanwhile, to make a point, Watson says he’s resigning form the DuPage County NAACP.
“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 he’s leaving because he can no longer be part of an organization with Haley as the state leader.
