The NAACP warns Charlotte City Council against appointing a non-Black interim mayor, emphasizing the importance of Black representation as Mayor Vi Lyles steps down.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — As the search for an interim Charlotte mayor heats up, the NAACP Charlotte-Mecklenburg Branch is making its position clear and issuing a direct warning to City Council members ahead of their appointment vote.
The civil rights organization released a statement on May 11, responding to lobbying efforts by white candidates for the interim seat left by Mayor Vi Lyles. This came after former Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts said she is “willing” to serve as interim mayor following Lyles’ decision to step down June 30.
“It is seriously disturbing for white folks to be lobbying to be the interim Mayor in Charlotte,” the NAACP said in a statement. “Our Mayor who recently resigned is a Black woman who is a registered Democrat.”
The organization pointed to the broader national landscape as context for its concern.
“While Black representation is being undermined and stripped nationwide, white folks are either tone deaf or worse — self-centered,” the statement read. “It’s not about YOU!”
The NAACP emphasized that Black voters in Charlotte have been deliberate in their choices at the ballot box.
“In Charlotte, Black voters have been intentional about having Black representation,” the statement said.
The organization also issued a direct warning to City Council members, who are tasked with selecting Lyles’ interim replacement.
“If the City Council votes a non-Black person in as interim Mayor again, voters will hold you accountable next year,” the NAACP said.
Lyles is Charlotte’s first Black female mayor and the city’s second-longest serving mayor. She won reelection in 2025 but announced she would step down early to spend more time with her grandchildren.
RELATED: ‘Honor of my life’: Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles announces she will resign from office
Charlotte City Council has until June 30 to appoint an interim mayor to serve out the remaining roughly year and a half of her term. Any appointee must be a registered Democrat.
Councilman Mitchell has said the body is unlikely to publicly outline its selection process until the first week of June.
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