Boston Mayor Michelle Wu was pushed to apologize following backlash from a holiday party invitation she sent to her city council colleagues … or so we assume. The words “electeds of color” seemed to strike a nerve for some folk.
Wu’s secretary sent an email to all officials reading, “Honorable members: On behalf of Mayor Michelle Wu, I cordially invite you and a guest to the Electeds of Color Holiday Party,” per The Boston Herald, which obtained a copy of the message. After all the tantrums we’ve seen from white folks protesting diversity groups, race-based affinities and other safe spaces for people of color, it’s safe to assume this invite didn’t go over well. The Herald spoke to one white city councilor who called it “divisive” but said he didn’t feel offended by it.
However, Wu insisted that there was a mistake made. She told WCVB-TV, the message wasn’t supposed to go out to everyone, actually. However, someone hit the “send to all” button by accident.
Read more from NBC Boston:
“I’ve been a part of a group that gathers, representing elected officials of color across all different levels of government in Massachusetts,” she said. “A group that has been in place for more than a decade, and the opportunity to create a space for people to celebrate and rotate who hosts.”
The mayor apologized and said the sending of the party invitation to officials who did not fit the description was “an honest mistake.”
“I think we’ve all been in a position at one point where an email went out, and there was a mistake in the recipient,” she said.
Wu, the city’s first Asian-American mayor, told reporters there was going to be another holiday party planned for all elected officials. However, others argued that everyone is entitled to safe spaces where they can embrace shared experiences and backgrounds.
“It is not at all divisive, it is creating spaces for people, and communities and identities with shared experiences to come together,” said Ruthzee Louijeune, Boston city councilor-at-large, via NBC Boston. “We are still breaking barriers and it is so important for us to carve out and create that space.”