'If you attack President Obama, you will be called a racist,' says black NCGOP official. 'If I attack him I'll be called a Republican.'

By Verne Strickland, June 2, 2011

“If you attack President Obama, you will be called a racist. If I attack him, I'll be called a Republican.”

Speaking was Dr. Timothy Johnson, vice chairman of the N.C. Republican Party, who keynoted the June meeting of the Lower Cape Fear Republican Women’s Club.

While Johnson is black, his audience was white. Johnson had made his point.

He spoke to a small but keenly interested audience which gathered Thursday at the Mai Tai Restaurant on Wilmington’s Oleander Drive. 

Confident and direct, Johnson is running for re-election to the office he holds. He is being challenged by Wayne King of King's Mountain, NC. King was unable to attend the LCFRWC session. The election will take place at the NCGOP convention June 3-5 in Wilmington.

Here are some of his comments to the Republican women:

“We want to move forward to reclaim the White House, the governor’s mansion, the Council of State, and make sure that we hold onto the General Assembly. We have a lot of work to do, and we have to be serious about getting it right.

“We’ve got to recognize that the Democratic National Convention is coming to Charlotte. This indicates that we are not just a place on the U.S. map anymore, we live in a true battleground state. 

“We will be in the national spotlight.We don’t want to allow Obama to use this occasion as part of his agenda to get re-elected.”

 Johnson’s personal biography is truly impressive. These are but a few of the highlights:

Retired Major Timothy Johnson, Ph.D. made history on June 13, 2009, when he was elected Vice Chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party, becoming the first Black American to hold the position since the party’s inception March 27, 1867.  Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Dr. Johnson graduated from Benedictine High School and was a member of two state championship football teams. It was there he got the bug to get involved with politics.  In preparation, Timothy earned the Boy Scouts of America’s highest rank, the Eagle Scout Award, at the age of 14; he has continued to be a servant leader throughout his adult life. He is also Founder and National Chairman, The Frederick Douglass Foundation.  Dr. Johnson completed 21 years of military service and received numerous military honors on Active, Reserve and National Guard duties with the United States Army, serving as an enlisted soldier and commissioned officer (attaining the rank of Major). Twice elected Chairman of the Buncombe County, NC Republican Party, Dr. Johnson was a delegate to the 2008 Republican National Convention, as well as a panelist at the 2008 Black Republican Forum held in New York.    For more on Dr. Timothy Johnson and The Frederick Douglass Foundation, please go to: www.talkguests.com/timothyjohnsonbio.htm

 Dr. Johnson had some friends in the audience when he arrived at the GOP luncheon in Wilmington, and it is certain that he added a few more.


Sondra North, a retired Wilmington school teacher, voted for him when he successfully ran for the N.C. Republican Party vice chairmanship in 2009.


"I think he is a very qualified person for this job and I am going to vote for him again," she said. "Tim made a comment here today that really impressed me. He said that we need to refrain from being politically correct, and learn how to be politically direct. I think he practices what he preaches."