Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) made some controversial statements on Sunday while speaking about why he hires so many black citizens to work for the city.
While speaking to the congregation at the Apostolic Church of God in Woodlawn, Johnson made statements that brought criticism online, MRC-TV reported on Monday.
“Some detractors that will push back on me and say, ‘The only thing the mayor talks about is the hiring of black people.’ No, what I’m saying is when you hire our people we always look out for everybody else. We are the most generous people on the planet,” Johnson said.
“I don’t know too many cultures that have play cousins, that’s how generous we are. We just make somebody a family member, right? That’s just how we are,” he stated:
Mayor Brandon Johnson: "The reason I hire so many blacks to run Chicago is because we're planet earth's most generous race" pic.twitter.com/b2qEzWOR5x
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) May 18, 2025
Social media users share their thoughts on his comments, one person writing, “So you hire people based on their race! It’s hard for me to comprehend that this is okay!”
“Maybe you should consider doing your job and hiring people who have the skills to improve the city. If they can do their jobs, nobody cares what color they are,” another person said.
In the clip, Johnson continued by listing several city officials who are black men and women, linking them to ensuring “our people” have the opportunity to grow their businesses.
In January, Breitbart News reported:
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday rescinding President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Executive Order 11246, which mandated government contractors take affirmative action.
The order more broadly ceases diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) “discrimination in the federal workforce, and in federal contracting and spending,” the White House noted.
…
Trump committed once again at his rally at Capital One Arena on Sunday to terminate former President Joe Biden’s DEI mandates and return to a merit-based system.
Johnson in October 2023 urged city authorities to give black residents fewer parking tickets, per Breitbart News.
“The city has established a ‘Racial Equity Office,’ which pushes the idea that urgency is white supremacist, and has made its city police give fewer parking tickets to black residents,” the outlet said.
Johnson’s favorability crashed to 6.6 percent in a poll conducted with hundreds of Chicagoans in February, the majority of whom voted for now former Vice President Kamala Harris in the recent presidential election, according to Breitbart News.
“The top three issues selected by respondents were crime, high taxes, and inflation. Just 11 percent of respondents listed ‘racism’ as one of their top issues, and only three percent listed ‘LGBTQ+ rights,'” the outlet said.
