Michelle Wu is the first woman and the first Asian American elected mayor in Boston. That happened in 2021 and Boston has been around since 1630. This is impressive, but it’s revealing that even in 2023, there are still women and other minority groups who are the “first” to achieve a powerful position.
Last week, Wu hosted a holiday party for elected officials of color. A staff member mistakenly sent the invitation to the entire city council, but a second email clarified that the “Electeds of Color Holiday Party” was intended for elected officials of color. (The party has taken place for more than a decade without complaint.)
“There are many events that are private events for all sorts of groups,” Wu told reporters on Wednesday, “so we’ve clarified that and look forward to seeing everyone at one of the dozens of opportunities to celebrate the holidays.”
It’s the time of year when white conservatives’ persecution complexes grow three sizes. The usual whiny suspects cried foul over Wu’s gathering.
Council member Frank Baker seems to think a party for elected officials of color is the wrong message for the Hallmark movie season.
“I think the holidays is a time for people — everyone — to get together. So we’ll see what happens,” Baker, who is white, told NBC10 Boston. “I do find it divisive, but what are you going to do about it?”
“I don’t get offended.” Baker added. “You don’t want me at a party, I’m not going to come to a party.”
Maybe Baker will eventually run for mayor himself on the bold platform of “I’m not a party crasher.”
Wu infuriated the Fox News crowd when she posted a photo of the gathering on Instagram. She wrote in the picture’s caption:
"Last night was my turn to host the annual holiday dinner for Boston’s elected officials of color — a special moment to appreciate that our affinity group now includes leadership across city, state, county, and federal offices.”
Fox News insult comic Greg Gutfield claimed Wu has a history of “blatant racism.” (She does not.) Megyn Kelly — Ms. White Santa herself — posted on the generic social media site: “Can you imagine if a mayor publicly celebrated her ‘whites only’ holiday party like this?”
This is obviously an unfair comparison. Affinity groups allow members of a underrepresented group to connect and not feel like the outsider for once. It’s socially relaxing. A “whites only” group is simply promoting their success in a white-dominated society. Hell, few “whites only” gathering were actually “whites only” considering the food was often prepared and served by people of color.
Kelly, Gutfield, and others ignore how “whites only” is usually the result of an exclusionary system that is implicit if not overt. White and male-only environments deny opportunities to other groups in ways that Wu’s holiday party does not. Paul Ryan’s all-white House interns, Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s predominately white law clerks, and even Kristen Bell’s all-white dinner party are more problematic because the result wasn’t intentionally segregationist. They didn’t set out to exclude non-white groups. It’s just how the system operates.
Mayor Wu notes in her Instagram post, “Not too long ago in Boston, we didn’t need such a big table to fit electeds of color.”
“But over my time as a City Councilor and now Mayor, following so many leaders who have paved the way, I’ve proudly watched this group grow and create space for mentorship and fellowship among many who are breaking down barriers while holding the weight of being the first or only.”
This mentorship and fellowship comes from spending time with each other and not subjecting yourself to Megyn Kelly’s company.
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I had a introverts only Christmas party.
Fortunately nobody showed.
This reminds me of a little exchange from Spin City (oh how I miss Michael J Fox), that has always stuck with me as a helpful summary of institutional racism:
Stuart Bondek: Gimme a break, Mike. We're a dying breed. Who's looking out for the white, middle class, heterosexual male?
Carter Heywood: Congress.