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Whiteville resident questions religious displays at county health meetings
Summary
A Whiteville resident said patriotic and religious displays at county Board of Health meetings may be affecting staff morale; the city council member who responded said the practice is controlled by the county, not the city.
John Woods, a Whiteville resident, told the City Council that he has documented displays of prayer and patriotic material at county Board of Health meetings and questioned whether those practices could be harming Black staff and contributing to an "undesirable" health report.
"My name is John Woods. I live at 105 F Jones Place, Whiteville," Woods said during the meeting's public-comment period. "All of these meetings included a display of prayer and patriotism. ... I have some pictures if anybody wants to look at them and I have some presentation of dates going back to 02/2014."
Woods asked why displays that honor the country and religious practice occur during Board of Health meetings and said the practice "can cause Black enthusiasm team scare affecting their work ethic." He also asked whether it could be "partially a reason we have an undesirable health report here."
A city official responding at the meeting said the matter was outside the city's jurisdiction and is controlled by the county commission and county departments. The official did not identify a specific county policy or ordinance during the exchange.
Woods framed his concern as a long-standing practice he traces to the prior supervisor and staff. He said he has photographs and dated material going back to February 2014 but did not present those documents to the council during the meeting.
The remarks came during the public-comment portion of the City Council meeting; no formal city action was taken on the matter during the session.
