Charlottesville mayor sparks outrage by comparing her town to a rapist
The mayor of Charlottesville, Virginia sparked an angry backlash online after posting a graphic, sexually charged poem comparing the college town to a rapist.
The original post was initially removed by Facebook for violating ‘community standards.’ The mayor posted a longer, edited version in its place.
Nikuyah Walker, a former city council member who was elected as Charlottesville’s first ever black mayor in November 2017, posted what she called a ‘short poem’ to her social media account.
‘Charlottesville: The beautiful-ugly it is,” it reads. ‘It rapes you, comforts you in its c** stained sheet and tells you to keep its secrets.’
That post prompted complaints to Facebook, which responded by removing the poem because it ‘goes against our standards on adult sexual exploitation.’
Charlottesville, Virginia Mayor Nikuyah Walker (pictured above in this undated file photo) caused a stir online when she posted a ‘poem’ in which she compared her city to a rapist
Walker, who started her public career as a parks and recreation aide, swept into power by riding a wave of anger in response to the August 2017 white nationalist rally, which paraded through the city and left one counter protester dead and dozens injured.
She had gained a reputation as an advocate for racial and social justice, which catapulted her to the mayoralty after city council members voted to install her in the top job following the events of August 2017. She ran as an independent.
After Facebook took the original post down, Walker posted a longer version of the poem that was edited, with all explicit content removed.
Instead of c** stained sheet, she wrote that ‘Charlottesville rapes you and covers you in sullied sheets.’
Walker’s city biography says she was born and raised in the city and graduated from Charlottesville High School in 1998. DailyMail.com has reached out to Walker seeking comment.
‘Charlottesville: The beautiful-ugly it is,” it reads. ‘It rapes you, comforts you in its c** stained sheet and tells you to keep its secrets.’
Facebook temporarily suspended Walker’s account after her post was deemed a violation of the social network’s ‘community standards’
Walker then posted a longer, edited version which reads: ‘Charlottesville rapes you and covers you in sullied sheets’
Walker, the first black woman to ever serve as mayor of Charlottesville, was elected months after the August 2017 white nationalist rally in the town which left one counter protester dead and dozens injured
When she re-posted the edited poem, the mayor wrote: ‘Is this better? I’m asking the person who reported my short poem to FB,’
On social media, Twitters users were outraged by Walker’s use of a rape analogy to describe her city.
One Twitter user wrote: ‘If you want to be a poet, go be a poet.
‘As the elected Mayor of a well known city that is in need of leadership, healing, inclusiveness & unity, posting this on social media is a terrible call and does NOTHING to address the needs/ issues in your city. At all.’
Walker then posted a link to a 2017 Washington Post article about Thomas Jefferson and his relationship with a slave, Sally Hemings. Walker wrote: ‘Thomas jefferson raped Sally Hemings. He “owned” and raped her. ‘How repulsed do you think she use to be as she laundered his fluids and scent out of the linens that he raped her on?’
In response to the backlash, Walker posted an image on Facebook showing a mug that reads: ‘My art doesn’t understand you either.’
The full poem reads: ‘Charlottesville: The beautiful-ugly it is. It lynched you, hung the noose at city hall and pressed the souvenir that was once your finger against its lips.
‘It covers your death with its good intentions. It is a place where white women with Black kids collects signature for a white man who questions whether a black woman understands white supremacy.
‘It is destructively world class.
‘White people say that it is a place where gentrification started with the election of a Black women in 2017 and because of white power, a lie becomes #facts.
‘Its daily practice is that of separating you from your soul. Charlottesville is void of a moral compass.
‘It’s as if good ole tj (Thomas Jefferson) is still cleverly using his whip to whip the current inhabitants into submissiveness.
‘Charlottesville rapes you of your breaths. It suffocates your hopes and dreams. It liberates you by conveniently redefining liberation.
A Twitter user wrote: ‘It sure sounds like Charlottesville is a very bad place. ‘Maybe they need a new Mayor.’
Another Twitter user wrote: ‘As its leader, your job is to raise up your city, make it and it’s constituents successful. That’s your job. Dragging it through the mud is poor leadership. It’s ugly and I’m gonna guess people of all races are having some doubts about their votes for you.’
Pat Boldosser tweeted: ‘Sounds awful. Who’s in charge of this hell hole? ‘They should be held to account. Or maybe just everyone should move out.’
Another Twitter user wrote that the mayor’s post meant that their child would not be attending the University of Virginia, whose main campus is in Charlottesville. ‘At least you made our decision on colleges much easier, UVA is off the list,’ wrote the Twitter user
That prompted a response from a resident, Ida B. Landers, who tweeted: ‘It’s really sad because Charlottesville itself is such a vibrant and good place to be, and UVA is a genuinely good school. Trust me, Nikuyah does NOT speak for the values and thoughts of the majority of Charlottesvillians.’
One person on Twitter commented: ‘Oh man, glad I didn’t take that job in Charlottesville! The realtor neglected to tell me about how rapey it was! Thanks Ms Mayor!’
Others posted memes mocking Walker. One Twitter user posted a meme showing a worker at McDonald’s saying: ‘Here’s that attention you ordered.’
Another Twitter user wrote: ‘Calling it a “poem” doesn’t make it less insane.’
Another Twitter user commented that Walker’s poem was ‘quite a scathing repudiation of your term as mayor.’
One Twitter user appeared to want to be sympathetic to Walker, though she noted that the mayor could have expressed herself differently
‘It progressively chants while it conservatively acts. Charlottesville is anchored in white supremacy and rooted in racism.
‘Charlottesville rapes you and covers you in sullied sheets.’
On Twitter, reaction was generally poor.
Pat Boldosser wrote: ‘Sounds awful. Who’s in charge of this hell hole?
‘They should be held to account. Or maybe just everyone should move out.’
Another Twitter user wrote that the mayor’s post meant that their child would not be attending the University of Virginia, whose main campus is in Charlottesville.
‘At least you made our decision on colleges much easier, UVA is off the list,’ wrote the Twitter user.
That prompted a response from a resident, Ida B. Landers, who tweeted: ‘It’s really sad because Charlottesville itself is such a vibrant and good place to be, and UVA is a genuinely good school.
Others on Twitter defended Walker, saying that people ‘may want to listen’ as the mayor is ‘trying to tell all of us a story’
Another Twitter user commented that Walker has a ‘much deeper view of what’s going on behind the scenes and must be frustrated’
Another Twitter user praised Walker for not having a ‘typical “make everyone love me” approach’ to politics
‘Trust me, Nikuyah does NOT speak for the values and thoughts of the majority of Charlottesvillians.’
Another Twitter user commented that Walker’s poem was ‘quite a scathing repudiation of your term as mayor.’
Another Twitter user wrote: ‘As its leader, your job is to raise up your city, make it and it’s constituents successful.
‘That’s your job. Dragging it through the mud is poor leadership.
‘It’s ugly and I’m gonna guess people of all races are having some doubts about their votes for you.’
Another Twitter user wrote: ‘Calling it a “poem” doesn’t make it less insane.’
Thomas Jefferson’s legacy is a hot topic of conversation in Charlottesville, which is home to his plantation, Monticello
One person on Twitter commented: ‘Oh man, glad I didn’t take that job in Charlottesville!
‘The realtor neglected to tell me about how rapey it was!
‘Thanks Ms Mayor!’
FROM ACTIVIST TO MAYOR: THE RISE OF NIKUYAH WALKER
Charlottesville Mayor Nikuyah Walker
Before becoming mayor in 2017, Nikuyah Walker, 40, was a social activist who was born and raised in Charlottesville.
Having grown up in a low-incoming housing development, she made it her mission to help residents from similar circumstances negotiate the city’s bureaucracy.
She graduated from Charlottesville High School in 1998 and earned a bachelor’s degree in political science in 2004.
After graduating from college, she was hired as an aide for the city’s parks and recreation department, where she earned a salary of $14.40 an hour.
After the August 2017 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, opinion was split inside the town over who was to blame for the violence.
Some accused agitators from outside of coming into the city and stirring up trouble, while other Charlottevillians said that the chaos was a product of pent-up racism with local roots.
Walker capitalized politically on those sentiments and won a city council seat. She then managed to receive the support of four of the five city council members who installed her as mayor.
Since coming into office, Walker’s central focus has been on creating affordable housing for low-income residents.
In February, it was reported that Walker was being investigated for potential misuse of city funds after it was learned she bought gift cards for community members who spoke at City Council meetings.
Others posted memes mocking Walker. One Twitter user posted a meme showing a worker at McDonald’s saying: ‘Here’s that attention you ordered.’
Another Twitter user wrote: ‘It sure sounds like Charlottesville is a very bad place.
‘Maybe they need a new Mayor.’
In response to the backlash, Walker posted an image on Facebook showing a mug that reads: ‘My art doesn’t understand you either.’
She also posted a message which read: ‘It looks like FB took me out of FB jail. I guess my post didn’t violate their policies.’
Walker then posted a link to a 2017 Washington Post article about Thomas Jefferson and his relationship with a slave, Sally Hemings.
Walker wrote: ‘Thomas jefferson raped Sally Hemings. He “owned” and raped her.
‘How repulsed do you think she use to be as she laundered his fluids and scent out of the linens that he raped her on?’
Hemings was an enslaved woman of mixed race who was owned by Jefferson, the nation’s third president who served from 1801 to 1809.
Jefferson is believed to have fathered several of Hemings’ children. The nature of their relationship has been the subject of controversy among historians in recent years.
Jefferson’s home Monticello is in Charlottsville.
In February, it was reported that Walker was being investigated for potential misuse of city funds after it was learned she bought gift cards for community members who spoke at City Council meetings.
In recent years, Charlottesville, a town of about 47,000 residents that is a two-and-a-half-hour drive from Washington, DC, has been ranked among the best places to live in the United States.
In 2018, NBC’s TODAY show ranked Charlottesville No. 5 on the list of top 10 communities with the highest well-being.
The list was compiled based on a study asking Americans how they feel about living in their city, taking into account metrics like physical health, social ties, financial security, community, and sense of purpose.
In 2017, the web site Livability declared Charlottesville ‘one of America’s best places to live.’
According to the site, Charlottesville ‘has become a favorite home in recent years for young professionals, families and retired people, who are drawn to its college-town vibe, great restaurant scene, vineyards, history, and celebrated intellectual and cultural life.’
In recent years, Charlottesville has gained a reputation as one of America’s most livable cities, but Walker claims that gentrification has exacerbated racial and economic disparities that put its black residents at a disadvantage
Despite the glowing accolades, however, Walker has long argued that the city has become too expensive for its black residents who are suffering from racial and socioeconomic disparities.
The city is about 70 percent white, according to Census figures, and 18.4 percent black. It has a poverty rate of more than 22 percent – much higher than the U.S. as a whole, where the poverty rate is 10.5 percent, according to Census data.
As mayor, she has focused on building affordable housing for low-income residents, most of whom are black, while rolling back controversial policing policies like ‘stop and frisk.’
‘It’s hard growing up in Charlottesville, and being black in Charlottesville,’ Walker told the crowd on the night she won the mayoral election.
‘There are so many people who are brilliant and talented and they never make it because of the conditions of this city.’
Business leaders in the city have criticized Walker as a divisive figure, saying that she is less concerned with bringing tourism into town and more interested in bring up racial grievances from the past, according to The New York Times.
