When a prominent conservative like Congresswoman Lauren Boebert (R-CO) and former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) agree on any topic, it makes a significant statement that suggests a fundamental truth that transcends partisan politics. Like pointing out blatant anti-white racism for example. Both politicians have made calls for the Mayor of Chicago Lori Lightfoot to resign following her racist anti-white policy that she will only accept interview requests from journalists of color.
Blatant Anti-White Racism
Mayor Lightfoot's blatant anti-white racism is abhorrent. I call upon President Biden, Kamala Harris, and other leaders of our county—of all races—to join me in calling for Mayor Lightfoot's resignation. Our leaders must condemn all racism, including anti-white.
— Tulsi Gabbard 🌺 (@TulsiGabbard) May 21, 2021
I’m with @TulsiGabbard on Lori Lightfoot.
Her comments are disgusting, despicable and simply inexplicable.
She needs to resign.
— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) May 22, 2021
It all started on May 19th, when the wrote a signed letter and in the first sentence said:
“By now you should have heard the news that on the occasion of the two-year anniversary of my inauguration as Mayor of this great City, I will be exclusively providing interviews with people of color.”
The National Review wrote on May 21st,
“Lightfoot announced earlier this week that she would be “prioritizing media requests from POC reporters” in celebration of “the occasion of the two-year anniversary of my inauguration as mayor of this great city.” Her spokesman later told a local reporter that she was granting interview requests from black and Hispanic reporters exclusively.
The mayor has insisted that more ethnic and cultural diversity be introduced into the city’s newsrooms to foster racial equity and inclusion. She cited the “overwhelming whiteness and maleness” of the city’s media outlets as justification for her new policy.
“This is an imbalance that needs to change,” Lightfoot wrote on Twitter. “Chicago is a world-class city. Our local media should reflect the multiple cultures that comprise it.”
Lightfoot Responds to “Overwhelmingly White” Press
Lightfoot (who is shockingly unpopular even with the Democratic-Socialists she ran on the backs of) responded to the criticism levied against her with a lengthy Twitter screed (condensed for your convenience) she wrote,
“I ran to break up the status quo that was failing so many. That isn’t just in City Hall. It’s a shame that in 2021, the City Hall press corps is overwhelmingly White in a city where more than half of the city identifies as Black, Latino, AAPI or Native American.
Diversity and inclusion is imperative across all institutions including media. In order to progress we must change.
This is exactly why I’m being intentional about prioritizing media requests from POC reporters on the occasion of the two-year anniversary of my inauguration as mayor of this great city.
This is an imbalance that needs to change. Chicago is a world-class city. Our local media should reflect the multiple cultures that comprise it.
We must be intentional about doing better. I believed that when running for office. I stand on this belief now. It’s time for the newsrooms to do better and build teams that reflect the make-up of our city.”
The National Association of Black Journalists seems to disagree with the Mayor, they said that “while they agree diversity is a problem in the news business, they “cannot support” a policy which marginalizes journalists based on race.”
That’s because excluding a person because of the color of their skin, no-matter what you’re supposedly “being intentional” about, is by definition racist. When someone uses the phrase “Overwhelmingly [Insert Racial Characteristic Here]” it rarely a positive sentiment, but in this context is clearly outlining self evident racist discrimination. Also, as many pointed out, if anyone used the same phrasing to enact a similar policy against ANY other racial group Lightfoot would be out of office by now. Instead we get two weeks of the mainstream media willfully ignoring the story.
1 comment
Comments are closed.