Mayor's comment about running 'the Indians off' is called racist by some residents

Fuquay-Varina Mayor John Byrne said Friday he didn't mean to offend anyone when he said a family had been in town so long "they helped run the Indians off."

Byrne made the comment during the Follow Me To Fuquay-Varina concert series Thursday night, when he was introducing a representative from K.B. Johnson Oil and Gas Company, the sponsor of the event.

"I just couldn't believe he said it," said Carolyn Mabry, who was at the event and heard the remark. "He said, 'This family has been here so long, and I'm probably going to get in trouble for saying this, but they helped run off the Indians.'"

Mabry said she wrote down the exact quote because she was so surprised by what Byrne said. She said she was standing near a Native American woman and her son when she heard it..

The comment wasn't meant in a negative way, Byrne said Friday, adding that he was referencing a "point in time" in history. He said he was talking about the Sippihaw, the group of Native Americans who lived in the area in the 1700s. The town was originally called Sippihaw, he said.

"It was more of a positive thing than a negative thing," Byrne said in an interview Friday. "The Sippihaw Indians were a great friendly group of Indians and had a whole lot to do with our area's development. And we have much in our museum, I think, about that time period. My comment was more about going back to our history."

Though Byrne said he couldn't remember his exact wording, the phrase "I'll probably get in trouble for saying this but they helped run the Indians off" sounded accurate. He said he isn't "overly concerned" about a backlash and that most people who know him "know that I refer to history."

He also said he likely knew more about the Native Americans than "whoever would be complaining about the Indians I was referring to."

"It was referencing how long the Johnson family had been in business in Fuquay-Varina," Byrne said. "That's where it's coming from. I was giving Indians credit for being here. Most people wouldn't have even done that."

Mabry condemned the mayor's "racist" comment on the town's Facebook page and said she intends to complain to the town.

There had been no complaints to the town as of Friday morning, said Susan Weis, the town's communication director.

"I am angry about it, and I think it's completely inappropriate," Mabry said. "If you're the mayor, then you're supposed to be representing every citizen of your area. Also there were children there. I don't want children to be getting those racist messages and think that it's OK to say messages like that."

Hal Johnson, who owns Johnson Oil and Gas with his brother, said his family doesn’t condone the "absurd" comment and that his jaw dropped when he heard it Thursday night. Johnson said he couldn't speak to the context or rationale behind the comment but that it was made in a joking manner.

"Knowing the kind of man he is, I don’t think he meant anything by it," Johnson said. "It's just the way it came out, so I don't know. We had nothing to do with that comment. I am 180 degrees away from that comment. Me and my whole family. I want to make that clear."

Anna Johnson; 919-829-4807; @anna_m_johnson

This story was originally published April 13, 2018 at 3:35 PM with the headline "Mayor's comment about running 'the Indians off' is called racist by some residents."