Many Bostonians deny that their city is racist. When asked in a recent poll, the city’s residents were split on that question—with slightly more of them saying the city is not racist.
Irene Monroe, writing for WGBH, said the city’s racist past haunts its present. She pointed to episodes ranging from the bigotry of anti-busing protests in the 1970s, to a man who tried to coverup killing his pregnant wife by blaming a homeless Black man.
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Boston also shows its racist side against its own athletes. In a piece on fans at Boston’s Fenway Park calling an opposing player, Adam Jones, the N-word, Time magazine noted that NBA Hall of Famer Bill Russell, who won numerous championships with the Boston Celtics, called the city a “flea market of racism.”
Will racism prevent, what is ironically one of the most liberal cities in America, from electing its first Black mayor?
The Boston Globe reported that Councilor Tito Jackson debated Mayor Martin J. Walsh on Tuesday night, in what was likely their final face-to-face public meeting before the Nov. 7 election.
Jackson criticized the incumbent for largely ignoring an NAACP report card that gave the mayor low grades for not keeping promises to communities of color.
The Boston branch of the NAACP released a scathing 175-page report on Sunday that many community leaders say confirms their experience dealing with Walsh’s administration, according to WBUR. The list of issues includes a lack of diversity in the fire department, failure to support minority-owned businesses, and not implementing a police body camera program.
Walsh defended his record during the debate: “I won’t deny there are definitely issues we have to deal with, and we deal with them every single day,” he said. “We’ve talked about generational issues that nobody has ever tackled.”
Based on a recent poll, Jackson has an uphill battle. The mayor holds a 35-percent lead over his rival. How much of that lead comes from people who don’t want a Black mayor?
SOURCE: WBGH, Time, Boston Globe, WBUR
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Will Boston’s Closet Racism Prevent The City From Electing Its First Black Mayor was originally published on newsone.com
