‘A Christian is supposed to … keep your races pure,’ – Jim Cleveland

Councilman in the Georgia town of Hoschton said the idea of interracial marriage ‘makes his blood boil’

Cleveland is considering resigning from his position on the city council after he came under fire for racist remark regarding interracial marriage

The idea ‘that’s just not the way a Christian is supposed to live’, he insists

And he’s not the only government official spewing racial remarks in Hoschton 

Hoschton Mayor Theresa Kenerly also faces calls for her resignation, officials say

In documents, Kenerly is quoted as saying that there was a strong candidate for the city administrator job ‘but he was Black and we don’t have a big black population’

Documents allege Kenerly didn’t believe that Hoschton ‘was ready for [a Black administrator]’

Weird Christian doctrine: Hoschton City Councilman Jim Cleveland [photo], has drawn furious responses by some townspeople and others when he said opposes interracial marriage because he’s a Christian. He says now considering stepping down        

A councilman in a mostly white Georgia town who drew nationwide scorn for his comments on interracial marriage says he’s considering stepping down from his position.
City Council member Jim Cleveland said he is praying about the decision, though some townspeople have urged him to stay on the council in Hoschton, he said Wednesday.
‘I’m getting “don’t step down, hang in there, everything’s going to be okay,”‘ he said.
Hoschton city Mayor Theresa Kenerly similarly faces calls for her resignation.
In documents released by the city, Councilwoman Hope Weeks wrote that the mayor told her they had a strong candidate for the city administrator job ‘but he was Black and we don’t have a big Black population and she just didn’t think Hoschton was ready for that’.

Amnesia: Hoschton Mayor Theresa Kenerly photo], who’s also faceing calls for her resignation claims she can not recall endorsing race based job discrimination

Mayor Kenerly has said she doesn’t recall saying that. Messages left for the mayor at city hall Wednesday were not immediately returned.

Cleveland drew furious responses by some townspeople and others when he told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he opposes interracial marriage because he’s a Christian.

The idea ‘makes my blood boil because that’s just not the way a Christian is supposed to live’ and that a lesson from the church is to ‘keep your races pure,’ he’s told the newspaper.
‘This all goes back to when I was a kid and I was brought up in the South – rural Georgia – and it was preached in the church,’ he said on Wednesday.
He thinks his comments are being taken the wrong way, he said, and that he wants to apologize for ‘anything I’ve said that offended anybody.’
‘I am much more tolerant now than I used to be,’ he said in the interview. ‘When I see a black couple now, I say ‘okay, that’s the way of the times.’ I have never ever done anything vicious, cruel, ugly to a black person because of any of my beliefs.’

The idea ‘[of interracial marriage], makes my blood boil because that’s just not the way a Christian is supposed to live’ and that a lesson from the church is to ‘keep your races pure,’ Councilman Cleveland, [right], said 

  In documents released by the city, Councilwoman Hope Weeks [photo], states that Mayor Kenerly told her they had a strong candidate for the city administrator job ‘but he was black and we don’t have a big black population and she just didn’t think Hoschton was ready for that’

As townspeople mount intense pressure for the departure of the two politicians, a resident, Mary Morrison [photo], spoke out during a city council meeting at the Hoschton Historic Train Depot in Hoschton on Monday 

Faith leaders in the town planned a prayer vigil for Wednesday. The city’s website was offline Wednesday, with a message saying it was undergoing some work.
Cleveland, a former AT&T manager who has been on the council for about a decade, said Wednesday that he’s weighing the effect of a possible resignation.
If there are multiple resignations among the mayor and city council, he worries the city would be unable to carry on its official business.
‘I’ve done so much for the city,’ he said, adding that he’s paid $300 a year and donates all of it back to the city so it can be used for Christmas bonuses for employees.
He’s also spent hundreds of hours over the years renovating and repairing city buildings, he said.

Protests: ‘Hoschton will not tolerate racism’. Residents of Hoschton protested on Monday and called for both politicians to step down

Another protester was seen holding a sign that read: ‘Hoschton will not tolerate racism,’ during the council meeting

In recent days however, the fallout from his mind-bugling comments on fundamental race related issues seems to have gotten progressively worse.
‘The more I talk to anybody, it seems like the worse everything gets,’ he said.
Residents of Hoschton protested on Monday and called for both politicians to resign.
One woman was seen holding a sign that read: ‘Hoschton will not tolerate racism.’
Another sign read: ‘Resign Kenerly & Cleveland. We don’t want you!’