One of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's first black supporters this year has claimed that she was fired for endorsing a white candidate.

Joyce Johnson, the former president and CEO of the nonprofit Black Equity Alliance, said its board of directors ousted her after she endorsed Bloomberg in March, reports the New York Post.  

Bloomberg, an independent, could find himself running against Democratic city Comptroller Bill Thompson, who is black. Johnson said a board member told her "it would not look good" for the president of the BEA to endorse Bloomberg.



BEA, which supports black and poor communities in the city, objected because Bloomberg is "white and Jewish," according to a suit Johnson has filed in Manhattan Supreme Court. She alleged the organization wants to "thwart, even by unlawful means, if necessary, the re-election of Mayor Bloomberg based on his race."

Representatives for BEA did not respond to requests from the Post for comment. Johnson declined to be interviewed through her lawyer, Douglas Wigdor.

Johnson was working as a field director in New York for then-candidate Barack President Obama before BEA hired her in March 2008.

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