The phrase “the road to hell is paved with good intentions” proved fitting this week when Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s attempt to convene an affinity-group holiday party for officials of color backfired due to careless vetting of the invitee list. A staff oversight turned into a growing public relations migraine after invites for the private holiday event wrongly included white city councilors, who subsequently lashed out at their deliberate exclusion.
The controversy over a segregated holiday gathering exposes how even the most progressive leaders can unconsciously perpetuate racial divides. Despite Boston’s reputation as an enlightened, inclusive city under the helm of Mayor Wu, an invitation excluding people such as City Councilman Frank Baker purely for being white signals deep schisms still requiring redress. Though Mayor Wu soon apologized, the initial invitation underscores growing divisions that inclusive leaders must work to heal, not exacerbate. Simply put, exclusive events cannot mend systemic prejudice – they will only inflame it.
Affinity groups based on race or background have an understandable appeal for those seeking cultural comfort among peers. However, by definition, they promote exclusivity over inclusivity. The understandable desire for affirmative fellowship should not absolve the inherent myopia underlying any racial litmus test. Well-meaning statements on wanting space to connect over shared struggles sound righteous, until one recognizes the corollary they imply: that engaging with white peers somehow impedes this self-care. Regardless of intent, such exclusionary boundaries in fact widen segregation between groups that desperately need bridging. This undercuts the very mission of diversity, predicated on pluralism as David Brooks argues, not tiered access.
Such selective events may aim to support underrepresented voices, but invariably alienate potential allies like Councilman Baker. This breeds resentment that then undercuts broader equity initiatives essential for progress. And the reactive backlash in response underscores just how charged and fragile tensions around identity remain today.
Minority groups understandably chafe at enduring implicit biases daily, and therefore seek solidarity to commiserate and reaffirm dignity. Yet we must also acknowledge when efforts at corrective support themselves enable prejudice, such as restrictions that exclude anyone who doesn’t share the same marginalized background. We must consider how every action serves to either expand or restrict our unity and the common sphere of belonging.
Though intentions matter, impact counts more. Impact supersedes aim – a truth too easy to ignore when you are the architect of policies that divide. The upshot is that the painful irony of what I like to term “exclusionary inclusivity” simply hands ammunition to critics eager to dismantle diversity programs writ large, willfully oblivious to nuance.
For demagogues like Florida Governor DeSantis, this blunder signals grand hypocrisy, supposedly exposing duplicitous progressives simultaneously preaching and flouting inclusion. Such exaggerated political attacks deliberately conflate convoluted policies such as discriminatory affirmative action with something as benign as a holiday meal for an underrepresented group. But the moral high ground relies on consistency – leaders must unite, not splinter.
In this climate of polarization, leaders in Boston and nationwide must go out of their way to validate and include all those feeling aggrieved, not just historically persecuted groups. Our elected officials, in particular, carry a duty to represent all constituents and heal rifts – not exploit them for electoral gain. I commend Mayor Wu for responsibly acknowledging error, not reflexively defending the event simply because it supported officials of color. But this now demands thoughtful review of unintended harms from well-intentioned affinity group structures. The path forward relies on universal human dignity.
However psychologically comforting exclusive fellowship with those sharing our struggles may feel personally, the collective good requires rising above insular interests. The only antidote to discrimination everywhere is conscientious integration everywhere. Any rhetoric, policy, or action pitting one faction over others only drags America backwards when we desperately need to build common cause.
Martin Luther King, Jr. once ruminated on the irony that Sunday church services were America’s most segregated hour, and he implored faith leaders to reflect on such divides. Similarly, we must ask if an “electeds of color” gathering in a proudly liberal city promoting inclusion aligns with professed values if it deliberately excludes white peers. Moral leadership means taking the hard road, not seeking to be perpetually right. Inclusion starts from within, then radiates outward.
There are no easy answers, but such tone-deaf missteps can still spur progress if met with humility, not hubris. Perhaps this can serve as a teaching moment, prompting Mayor Wu to realign diversity efforts to what unites rather than divides. For example, one could envision a citywide celebration promoting cross-cultural awareness, intentionally integrating officials across all backgrounds. Only by elevating fellowship above ethnicity can Boston truly move towards justice.
I offer this commentary not from supposed moral high ground, but from hard-learned experience grappling with my own blindspots as a DEI advocate focused on mutual understanding. We all carry responsibility to consistently reexamine efforts through an empathetic lens, considering how actions might inadvertently obstruct the path towards equity. Progress relies on perseverance and patience from all.
So I gently encourage the Mayor, colleagues nationwide and myself to press forward growing from this experience with renewed perspective – taking to heart the discomfort Councilman Baker expressed at feeling less-than and deprived of fellowship solely because of racial assumptions. His voice represents multitudes similarly aggrieved, signaling work still unfinished for diversity advocates everywhere.
At times the journey towards a just, equitable America bending towards truth feels Sisyphean, advancement matched by frequent retreats that test morale. But we must hold fast to audacious hope that imperfect beings can build a more perfect union through abiding compassion. Onward.
Follow me on LinkedIn.
