As Texas mourns the deaths of at least five young girls and continues searching for 11 others missing after flash flooding tore through Camp Mystic, a girls’ Christian camp, a former Houston mayoral appointee ignited a firestorm of controversy by accusing the camp of being racially exclusive.

Sade Perkins, who served on Houston’s Food Insecurity Board under former Mayor Sylvester Turner, posted a now-viral video to her private TikTok account alleging that Camp Mystic is a “white-only” institution.

Her remarks, delivered just hours after the tragedy struck, have been met with widespread condemnation.

“I know I’m going to get cancelled for this, but Camp Mystic is a white-only girls’ Christian camp,” Perkins said. “They don’t even have a token Asian. They don’t have a token Black person. It’s an all-white, white-only conservative Christian camp.”

Her comments, made as the state’s flood-related death toll rose to 80, were seen by many as deeply insensitive given the timing and context.

“If you ain’t white you ain’t right, you ain’t gettin’ in, you ain’t goin’. Period,” Perkins continued.

Camp Mystic, located along the Guadalupe River in the Hill Country town of Hunt, has long been a popular summer retreat for generations of families across Texas.

The camp describes itself as a Christian environment for girls focused on “growth in faith, friendship, and leadership.” As of now, the camp has not released a statement responding to the accusations.

Perkins did not limit her criticism to the camp’s demographics. She suggested that the public and media attention surrounding the tragedy was directly tied to the race of the victims.

“If this were a group of Hispanic girls out there, this would not be getting this type of coverage that they’re getting,” she said.

“No one would give a f–k, and all these white people, the parents of these little girls would be saying things like ‘they need to be deported, they shouldn’t have been here in the first place’ and yada yada yada.”

The remarks triggered swift political backlash. Perkins’ term on the Food Insecurity Board expired in January, and current Houston Mayor John Whitmire made it clear that she would not be returning.

“I have no plans to reappoint her, particularly after her deeply inappropriate comments,” Whitmire said in a statement released Sunday.

In her initial 2.5-minute video, Perkins filmed herself scrolling through Camp Mystic’s homepage while criticizing the camp’s perceived lack of diversity and labeling it a “whites-only enclave.”

The video quickly spread across social media platforms, igniting intense debate. Supporters of Perkins defended her for highlighting what they saw as racial exclusivity in elite summer camps.

However, many others, including political figures, faith leaders, and grieving families, saw her statements as needlessly provocative and divisive, especially in the wake of a deadly natural disaster.

Critics pointed out that regardless of any legitimate concerns about representation, Perkins’ timing and tone came across as callous in the face of children’s deaths and ongoing rescue efforts. The majority of comments across platforms slammed the video as “tone-deaf,” “disrespectful,” and “irresponsible.”

One Houston resident commented, “Even if there’s a discussion to be had about race and inclusion, this was not the moment. Children are dead. Families are broken. This was not activism. This was cruelty.”

Some faith-based community leaders also weighed in, calling on people to show compassion rather than division in the wake of tragedy.

“No one is above criticism, but we must lead with love and empathy, especially when lives have just been lost,” said Pastor Elijah Martin of Houston’s Southside Missionary Church. “These were children.”

Camp Mystic has not released racial demographics of its attendees, and there is no formal policy indicating any form of racial exclusion.

Still, Perkins’ remarks have raised questions and stirred a broader conversation about access and representation in exclusive institutions like summer camps, especially those located in affluent or conservative communities.

As Texas continues to deal with the devastation from the floods and rescue teams press on in their search for the missing girls, many are urging the public to keep the focus on mourning and recovery — not division.

In the aftermath of the backlash, Perkins has not removed the video nor issued any clarifying remarks, suggesting she stands by her comments despite the controversy.

As the state heals from one of the most destructive weather events in recent history, the tragedy at Camp Mystic and the discourse that followed may leave a lasting mark — not only on the grieving families but on the social debates unfolding across the country.

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