By Ray Cardello for December 15, 2023, Season 23 / Post 41

I have wonderful, fond childhood memories of Christmastime in Boston. It was a magical place in the 60s. Driving along the city streets was a kaleidoscope of lights and colors, as was the Boston Common. The window displays at Filene’s were masterful, and we were always in awe of the Enchanted Village at Jordan Marsh. The holiday season always ended with a trip to Boston Garden for the Ice Capades. Only now do I realize what my folks must have sacrificed to give me and my sisters those memories. Apparently, the folks in charge of Boston these days do not share my memories or spirit for the holidays. The Presidents of some of Boston’s finest colleges cannot denounce antisemitism and then dare to show up at a Minorah lighting standing next to Jewish students they fail to protect.

The Mayor of Boston, Michelle Wu, comes from a Chinese lineage and is the first Asian woman to serve on the City Council and as Beantown’s Mayor. Wu was educated at Harvard, which may explain her role in an incredibly Racist, albeit stupid, incident that happened this week at City Hall.

Wu sparked controversy after mistakenly inviting all councilors to an “electeds of color” holiday party. The invitation was erroneously sent to all council members, and when the oversight was discovered, the White council members were sent an Un-Invitation. Whites were not welcome at Michelle Wu’s party. Wu claims it was an honest mistake that the invitation was sent to all members. Talk about compounding a disastrous lack of judgment and a stupid idea to begin with. I apologize for the second use of the term stupid, but I cannot use any of the colloquialisms of the gutter that I would like to use to describe this entire incident. No, Michelle, the mistake was not the list of invitees but the idea of an Electeds of Color Holiday Party at all. Whoever had that original thought should resign or be fired immediately, including Michelle Wu. This Whites Need Not Attend Party is one of the most offensive ideas and actions I have ever seen by a politician, and there have been many others.

It amazes me that 160 years after the Civil War, we still get mired in incidents of Racism, and when anything excludes people of any color, in this case, White, then it is Racism. In the words of our illustrious Press Secretary, Karine Jeanne-Pierre, “full stop.”

Michelle Wu should be holding up her status as the first Asian Mayor of Boston as a testament to how far the American people have come to be color-blind to Race, Sex, and Color. But not Wu. She had to play identity politics with something so joyous as a Holiday Party, use the worst card in her deck, the Race Card, and turn a party into a national embarrassment.

I was fortunate for two things early on in my life. When my family traveled South every year in the sixties and seventies, I saw first the restrooms, water bubblers, and building entrances designated for Whites and Blacks. I also saw the evolution of Civil Rights and the elimination of these designations, and the mingling of Whites and Blacks in all walks of life. I had parents who didn’t turn our heads away from social injustices but taught us why they were wrong and how we could be better people to never see the world as Black and White. I was raised to be color-blind, and unfortunately, Michele Wu did not have the benefit of the same teachings from her parents.

This has not been a good week for Boston. Mayor Wu and Harvard President Gay have shown how ungrateful they are for the opportunity afforded them by living in the greatest, most diverse country on Earth. They have set Civil Rights back decades—shame on both of these women and on anyone who condones their actions or turns away from their responsibility to hold people like them accountable. To do so is to lower the bar on what is right and wrong with humanity.