Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is facing backlash after segregating staff by hosting an 'Electeds of Colour' Christmas party with ‘no whites’ allowed.Wu’s administration mistakenly sent an invitation to all 13 Boston city councillors, six 'of colour' and seven white on Tuesday, the day before the party, per the Boston Herald.The mayor’s director of city council relations Denise DosSantos sent an email “on behalf of Mayor Michelle Wu” to the council’s “honourable members,” inviting them “and a guest to the Electeds of Colour Holiday Party” the following day, December 13 at 5:30 p.m. at the Parkman House, in Boston.Minutes later DosSantos emailed everyone again to “apologize for the previous email” that was sent to all councillors “by accident.” “I wanted to apologize for my previous email regarding a Holiday Party for tomorrow,” DosSantos wrote. “I did send that to everyone by accident and I apologize if my email may have offended or came across as so. Sorry for any confusion this may have caused.”.City councillor Frank Baker, a white man, told the Boston Herald the mayor’s race-based exclusion from the holiday party was “unfortunate and divisive.” He doesn’t think it was a “good move” to discriminate based on race, but he wasn’t personally offended.“I find it unfortunate that with the temperature the way it is, that we would further that division,” Baker said, adding “I don’t really get offended too easily. To offend me, you’re going to have to do much more than not invite me to a party.”Councillor Brian Worrell, a black man who is reportedly set to be the council’s vice-president next term, defended the idea of segregating the whites from the people “of colour,” saying that the party is an example of creating a space for “all kinds of specific groups” in local office.“We make space and spaces for all kinds of specific groups in the city and city government,” Worrell told the same publication. “This is no different, and the Elected Officials of Colour has been around for more than a decade.”Worrell added “Denise [DosSantos] has a strong working relationship with the council and our office. As she said in her follow-up email, she meant no ill will.”Councillor Tania Fernandes Anderson, a coloured woman, said there is “no need for apologies at all.”“Your email should not offend anyone and there is absolutely no confusion,” Fernandes Anderson told the Boston Herald. “Just like there are groups that meet based on shared interests or cultural backgrounds, it’s completely natural for elected officials of colour to gather for a holiday celebration.”“Many groups celebrate and come together in various ways and it’s not about excluding anyone. Instead, it’s about creating spaces for like-minded individuals to connect and support each other,” she said, adding it is “commendable” that Wu and her administration “organize[d] a holiday celebration specific to elected officials of colour.”Attorney Michael McCormack, a white man who served five terms on the council, pointed out the hypocrisy of condoning racism towards white people versus if it were the other way around, pointing out if former mayors Tom Menino or Ray Flynn, both white men, threw a holiday bash, all members of the city council would be invited.“The problem is that Boston and race, unfortunately, are synonymous,” McCormack said. “I’m just hoping it was a mistake. It’s not something that anyone in the mayor’s office should be proud of.”According to Wu spokesman Ricardo Patrón, the 'Electeds of Colour' party is hosted by a different person in a different location every year and Wu, “as an elected official of colour,” was asked to host this year’s event.Next week there will be a party for all city councillors, as well as Wu’s cabinet members, and the Boston state delegation at the State House.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is facing backlash after segregating staff by hosting an 'Electeds of Colour' Christmas party with ‘no whites’ allowed.Wu’s administration mistakenly sent an invitation to all 13 Boston city councillors, six 'of colour' and seven white on Tuesday, the day before the party, per the Boston Herald.The mayor’s director of city council relations Denise DosSantos sent an email “on behalf of Mayor Michelle Wu” to the council’s “honourable members,” inviting them “and a guest to the Electeds of Colour Holiday Party” the following day, December 13 at 5:30 p.m. at the Parkman House, in Boston.Minutes later DosSantos emailed everyone again to “apologize for the previous email” that was sent to all councillors “by accident.” “I wanted to apologize for my previous email regarding a Holiday Party for tomorrow,” DosSantos wrote. “I did send that to everyone by accident and I apologize if my email may have offended or came across as so. Sorry for any confusion this may have caused.”.City councillor Frank Baker, a white man, told the Boston Herald the mayor’s race-based exclusion from the holiday party was “unfortunate and divisive.” He doesn’t think it was a “good move” to discriminate based on race, but he wasn’t personally offended.“I find it unfortunate that with the temperature the way it is, that we would further that division,” Baker said, adding “I don’t really get offended too easily. To offend me, you’re going to have to do much more than not invite me to a party.”Councillor Brian Worrell, a black man who is reportedly set to be the council’s vice-president next term, defended the idea of segregating the whites from the people “of colour,” saying that the party is an example of creating a space for “all kinds of specific groups” in local office.“We make space and spaces for all kinds of specific groups in the city and city government,” Worrell told the same publication. “This is no different, and the Elected Officials of Colour has been around for more than a decade.”Worrell added “Denise [DosSantos] has a strong working relationship with the council and our office. As she said in her follow-up email, she meant no ill will.”Councillor Tania Fernandes Anderson, a coloured woman, said there is “no need for apologies at all.”“Your email should not offend anyone and there is absolutely no confusion,” Fernandes Anderson told the Boston Herald. “Just like there are groups that meet based on shared interests or cultural backgrounds, it’s completely natural for elected officials of colour to gather for a holiday celebration.”“Many groups celebrate and come together in various ways and it’s not about excluding anyone. Instead, it’s about creating spaces for like-minded individuals to connect and support each other,” she said, adding it is “commendable” that Wu and her administration “organize[d] a holiday celebration specific to elected officials of colour.”Attorney Michael McCormack, a white man who served five terms on the council, pointed out the hypocrisy of condoning racism towards white people versus if it were the other way around, pointing out if former mayors Tom Menino or Ray Flynn, both white men, threw a holiday bash, all members of the city council would be invited.“The problem is that Boston and race, unfortunately, are synonymous,” McCormack said. “I’m just hoping it was a mistake. It’s not something that anyone in the mayor’s office should be proud of.”According to Wu spokesman Ricardo Patrón, the 'Electeds of Colour' party is hosted by a different person in a different location every year and Wu, “as an elected official of colour,” was asked to host this year’s event.Next week there will be a party for all city councillors, as well as Wu’s cabinet members, and the Boston state delegation at the State House.
