News-Record.com

A Rhino Times column about Greensboro City Council member Goldie Wells has sparked a lot of blog discussion in recent days, most notably at Hogg's Blog. (The column in question isn't posted yet - I'll get a link up as soon as I see one.)

I tried unsuccessfully to reach Wells on Thursday and Friday for some other stories I was working on and to ask her about the column.

I got a hold of her for a brief conversation Monday afternoon. She denied calling John Hammer or his parents racist. Wells said she doesn't believe all white people are racist.

"I'm not a racist - I love all people," she said.

Wells did confirm she wrote a letter quoted in the article by Hammer that she wrote to the council last year after council members voted along racial lines to oppose the Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Community Project. "I was very upset at that time," she said. (Update: Hoggard has a copy of the letter in question.)

If anyone has more questions of Wells on this topic, let me know and I'll do my best to get an answer.