Key Takeaways
- Yvonne Doughtie, wife of Roanoke Rapids Mayor Emery Doughtie, wrote a Facebook post blaming many Black residents for housing, school, and neighborhood problems in the North Carolina city, contrasting them with the self-reliant community she says she grew up in.
- City officials quickly distanced themselves, saying the remarks do not reflect Roanoke Rapids’ values, while every City Council member except the mayor signed a statement condemning racism and demeaning language.
- The backlash comes as former Miss North Carolina USA Brittany Boltinhouse fights in court to reclaim her crown after being stripped of the title over resurfaced posts showing repeated N-word use, which she and her lawyers frame as “cancel culture” targeting her conservative Christian beliefs.
A North Carolina mayor’s wife is facing backlash after she blamed Black residents for problems with housing, schools and neighborhood conditions in a Facebook post — prompting city officials to publicly distance themselves from the remarks.
Yvonne Doughtie, wife of Roanoke Rapids Mayor Emery Doughtie, made the comments during an online discussion about economic differences across the city. Screenshots continued circulating after the post was deleted.
In the post, Doughtie contrasted present-day Roanoke Rapids with the Chaloner Park neighborhood where she grew up, describing an earlier community of professionals and working families who received “no handouts or government give aways.”
She then turned to race.
“Another problem I have observed is the Black Citizens have moved into the City of Roanoke Rapids and RRHS and there has been a lot of problems with their housing area and in the schools,” the post read. “I am not saying all Black Citizens but a lot of them just don’t take care of their houses especially if they are renting.”
Doughtie also criticized landlords she described as “Slum Lord Rental People” and claimed that many residents who once formed the “BackBone of Roanoke Rapids” had either died or left. She further argued that people today “just do not care and are not willing to work.”
The City of Roanoke Rapids responded on August 12 without naming Doughtie directly, in a statement to The Roanoke Rapids Daily Herald, saying it was aware of comments appearing to come from “the spouse of an elected official.”
“The individual is a private citizen and does not speak on behalf of the City of Roanoke Rapids,” officials said.
The city added that the remarks “do not reflect the values, policies, or position” of Roanoke Rapids and rejected attempts to explain community problems through racial or socioeconomic stereotypes. At the time, officials also noted that they had not independently verified the authorship of the deleted post.
All five Roanoke Rapids City Council members later signed a separate statement condemning racism, discrimination and demeaning language.
Mayor Doughtie has since addressed the controversy, acknowledging that his wife wrote the post and apologizing for the hurt her words caused. Despite calls from residents for his resignation, he told the City Council on August 18 that he plans to serve the remainder of his term.
The controversy arrives during another race-related story making headlines in North Carolina.
Miss USA President and CEO Thom Brodeur said the organization “does not tolerate racism, homophobia, transphobia, nor language that strips any person of their dignity.”
Boltinhouse has since launched a legal challenge seeking to reclaim the Miss North Carolina title, arguing through her attorneys that her removal was unjustified. Her legal team has characterized the decision as “shameful cancel culture,” while Boltinhouse has claimed she believes she was removed because of her conservative Christian beliefs.
First runner-up Myla Hadley has since taken over as Miss North Carolina USA.
