Fresh off their national convention, the race hustlers of the NAACP are trying to claim a scalp. The target: Charlotte, NC’s mayor, Pat McCrory (who is white). What did he say? Read: (Hat tip – reader Bill S.):

The NAACP wants Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory to apologize for remarks he made about African American youth after last week’s arrests during Fourth of July festivities in uptown.

Ken White, president of the Charlotte Branch of the NAACP, on Wednesday called the mayor’s comments “insensitive” and said he’s concerned they painted “African American youth with a broad swath that cuts deep in many of our communities.”

McCrory’s comments came July 5 in a letter to the city manager congratulating police on their efforts the night before, when 169 people were arrested in uptown. McCrory also wrote that “too many of our youth, primarily African American, are imitating and/or participating in a gangster type of dress, attitude, behavior and action.”

The NAACP has demanded an apology. Against a backdrop of black gang violence and recent arrests in the city, Mayor McCrory refuses to back down:

McCrory has said he did not mean that only African American youth were imitating gangs. But he said he specified them because that’s who he saw as he walked uptown streets during the celebration.

On Wednesday, he cited statistics showing more than 60 percent of Charlotte’s gang members are African American. And, he said, the victims of gang violence also tend to be black.

“One thing we agree on is that it is a horrible stereotype,” McCrory said, “but it’s being perpetuated by those who continue to dress like, behave like and act like gang members. It’s not productive to our community, our neighborhoods, our schools, or to those individuals who are doing it.”

Michael Kraft at the Charlotte Conservative blogs: “We are still awaiting the press conference from the NAACP where they do something, anything to help the entire community rid themselves of the problems downtown.”