Boston Mayor Michelle Wu defended holding a holiday party for “electeds of color” just hours before hosting the controversial gathering inside the city’s official reception hall Wednesday.
Wu admitted it was a mistake that every member of the Boston City Council received invitations to the controversial holiday party, and had already talked to those that were uninvited.
“We had individual conversations with everyone so people understand that it was truly just an honest mistake that went out in typing the email field,” Wu told reporters.
Wu, Boston’s first female of color and Asian American mayor, came under fire when her director of City Council relations, Denise DosSantos, sent an exclusive party invitation to all members of the City Council instead of just the select invitees.
Boston’s City Council is comprised of six minority and seven white members.
All of the white members had their invitations rescinded about 15 minutes after the original email was sent.
“I wanted to apologize for my previous email regarding a Holiday Party for tomorrow,” DosSantos wrote in her follow-up. “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.”
Wu justified Wednesday’s party claiming it had become sort of a yearly custom over the past decade, where members of the “diverse” group take turns hosting the party.
“I’ve been a part of a group that gathers, representing elected officials of color across all different levels of government in Massachusetts,” Wu said, according to WCVB. “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 added there would be other gatherings for all elected officials to attend saying she “looked forward to celebrating with everyone at the holiday parties that we have besides this one, as well.”
Wu stressed that the errant invitations were not meant to cause any harm and that she wants to continue bringing together all the different backgrounds that work in the city.
“It is my intention that we can, again, be a city that lives our values and create space for all kinds of communities to come together
“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,” Wu added.
When news of the holiday party was made public, New England residents expressed their outrage on social media.
“Mayor Wu is NOT dreaming of a white Christmas. And she will NOT be serving white wine tonight. Or white-meat chicken. No palefaces invited to Parkman House powwow!” New England radio host Howie Carr quipped on X.
“So in Boston, you can’t attend the mayor’s holiday party if you are white. How much longer are Americans going to tolerate this left-wing racist crap?” conservative X user Rod Dreher wrote.
While some people were disgusted by the idea of a party excluding white people, others defended it, including city council member Frank Baker who was originally invited before it was rescinded.
“I don’t really get offended too easily,” Baker, a white Democrat, told the Boston Herald. “To offend me, you’re going to have to do much more than not invite me to a party.”
“I find it unfortunate that with the temperature the way it is, that we would further that division,” he added.
