Where is the national outrage?
 

A few days ago Lori Lightfoot, the black mayor of Chicago announced that she will only be granting interviews with "people of color". She flat-out and proudly said that whites are excluded from talking/interviewing her.
Her racist attitude is alarming as not only a person, but is magnified by the fact that she is the mayor of Chicago.
Imagine being the reporter whose "beat" is Chicago politics? There goes your way of life simply because you're caucasian.
Of course I have to ask that what if this was done by any other white mayor? What if Bill De Blasio, mayor of New York city or Gil Garcetti, mayor of L.A. proclaimed that they won't be interviewed if your a person of color? Oh my God! There would be mass coverage, people calling for their resignation or firing, protests in the streets! But no, it's a black person racially discriminating against a white, that seems to be ok and we just have to sit back and take it.
What bothers me more than this act is that no one seems to care? No major news coverage across the board? A couple of days a few outlets ran with it but with no great urgency to get to the bottom of it?
Maybe the "bottom of it" is that we as white people should just take it and get use to it?
We seem to be doing a stellar job at it so far.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/media...or-interviews/

I don't believe she is exempting anyone from news briefings, just one-on-ones She is making the point that there are darn few reporters of color on the city hall beat. Therefore, she won't be getting many face to face interviews. Remember, our former president used to exclude certain media. It's a prerogative among the politically powerful.

Yes, and he was wrong. But he excluded them because they were exceedingly rude to him or extremely biased, NOT because of the color of their skin. This is an entirely different kettle of fish----and it stinks!

Coverage very much depended on which channel(s) you were watching, but even on Fox this news item just ran together with everything else that's happening in this country right now, the story didn't stand out from the rest.

Well, actually, she said for the ONE DAY in recognition of blacks issues and struggles she was only going to accept interviews on THAT one day from people of color.

So sad how much hate on here.

Since we should not be discriminating on the basis of ones race, then we should be makeing our choices on the ability of the person to accomplish the job.

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OMG!!! HATE? Really GOM??

How about the MAIN ongoing Black issue in this great city??? shhhhh...

In Chicago, 956 people were shot in the first four months of 2021—217 more than the same point in 2020, which was a record-setting year for shootings in the Illinois city.

The Chicago Tribune, which tracks all of the area's shooting victims, recorded that 956 people were shot between January 1 and April 26. It should be noted that the weekly data set provided by the newspaper reports the number of victims, not the amount of shootings.

At this point last year, 739 people were hit by gunfire in Chicago. A total of more than 4,130 people were shot in Chicago last year, the most in a single year since 2016, when more than 4,300 individuals were shot, and the second-highest since the Tribune began tracking the data back in 2012.

The number of shooting victims is likely to rise after another weekend of violence in Chicago. Forty-five people were shot, five fatally, in incidents across the city. In one attack, the victim was a 17-year-old boy who was shot Sunday while driving in West Garfield Park.


But SHE wants to avoid the Press from focusing on THAT... IDIOTIC. TYPICAL politician.

Chicago’s mayor declared that she would only grant one-on-one interviews to minority journalists to protest the lack of diversity in the Windy City press corps.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot, the first black woman and openly gay person elected to run that city, confirmed the move Tuesday after members of the local press took to Twitter saying they had been denied interviews based on their skin color.

“By now, you may 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 one-on-one interviews with journalists of color,” Lightfoot said in a letter to local media provided The Post.

“As a person of color, I have throughout my adult life done everything that I can to fight for diversity and inclusion in every institution that I have been a part of and being Mayor makes me uniquely situated to shine a spotlight on this most important issue.”

A Lightfoot spokesperson later clarified that the protest only pertains to interviews about her anniversary in office.

Lightfoot said her 2019 election was praised for breaking barriers.

“I ran to break up the status quo that has failed so many resident across our city,” Lightfoot said.

“And that failing status quo did not apply simply to City Hall and City government,” she added.

“It pertains and exists in all public and private institutions.”

Lightfoot challenged local media to hire more people of color and women of color to their staffs.

“I have been struck since my first day on the campaign trail back in 2018 by the overwhelming whiteness and maleness of Chicago media outlets, editorial boards, the political press corps, and yes, the City Hall press corps specifically,” she said.

Lightfoot said that during a “historic reckoning around systemic racism” many businesses and educational institutions have launched efforts to “address the deep=seated legacies of institutionalized racism.

“In looking at the absence of diversity across the City Hall press corps and other newsrooms, sadly it does not appear that many of the media institutions in Chicago have caught on and truly have not embraced this moment,” she said.

The mayor bashed local outlets for only having a “handful” of people of color who cover her administration. The group of reporters covering City Hall is “practically all white” and there’s not one woman of color among them, she said.

Her letter outlining these "issues>>>
2 Year Anniversary Letter.pdf - Google Drive

Chicago's mayor refuses to give interviews to white reporters

If she had an issue with a Caucasian reporter and doesn’t want that reporter to interview her, that’s fine. But to allow reporters to interview her, strictly based on skin color, is the very definition of racism...

What a disgrace, wonder what would happen if she runs again.

If people vote against her because of this than she would complain of racism.

First I heard anything about it. I never watch national news and rarely watch local news. Chicago is far away so no need to known their news. That said it does not seem right in this day and age.

National outrage? You can mark me down as outraged, if that will help.

People in Chicago are more upset with her for her strict covid measures than a press conference limitation.

I don't listen to much news these days, especially since conglomerates and Australians took over. And, I realize now why this forum supposedly won't allow politics. Emotions always cloud logic.

I did read a variety of news sources, however, once I saw this thread. The woman mayor was trying to promote reporters of color, since there were virtually no black reporters in Chicago. It wasn't the press conferences she was referring to, it was only the one on one interviews, that EVERY politician chooses to do on one to ones. I'm surprised this thread is still up.

Yes, certain "media", not certain races. Bad comparison.

Alright, so even one day is ok and not racist to you?

What we need in the media is more diversity of ideas, not more diversity of race.

So it's not racist for her to exclude white people?

So you're saying saying that it's not racist to exclude white reporters because it's only on "one-on-one" interviews? Thyat's ridiculous.

That was her trying to back-peddle because people were so horrified by her blatant racism that there were calls for her to resign.

kathy

My test for appropriateness of a statement is, if you exchanged the genders, or if you changed the races, would the comment still be acceptable? If not then USUALLY it is not appropriate.

Where's the outrage???.................do we really need to answer this.

First of all there is only one race, and that's the human race. Everything else is cultural and skin color. All politicians choose those reporters they want to be interviewed by, to either help someone out, or who they think can tell their story better. If she only included black reporters to her news briefings, then I'd say she has a problem.

What's ridiculous is you believing there is more than one race. There isn't. There is only the human race and we're all a part of it. No escaping.

One human species, not race. Race is a modern construct.

Even though you're not bothered by your race being excluded for even a day?, how would you feel if you were a reporter trying for months to interview her and are denied because of race?

They may pick and choose their one-on-ones but to do it by race?, you don't find offensive and oppressive?

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As modern as the 16th century, but people use the term race to separate people, and people today use the term "human race," not "human species."

Exactly. And what was happening in the 16th C.? Contact with different looking members of the same species. The use of the term race came about as a mechanism to separate the species via cranial type, color, etc. Use of the term race is racist in itself.

Lori Lightfoot....hypocrite

All, that, and yet, she still only said that she was ONLY taking one on one interviews with reporters of color for ONE day.

And you post a lengthy rant because of it.

Sorry, you are so upset about it.

It is ONLY one day.

So, for 364 days she is open to anyone, for ONE day she is meeting one on one with reporters of color.

Seems like a lot is being made from nothing.

No, that was her original statement, no backpedaling.

Great! You just solved racism...

Better tell everyone to stop accusing people of it...

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NOT a rant - simple way to 'cancel' the response GOM. This was directly from TWO unbiased NEWS sources on the topic.
You mentioned the HATE word.

Imagine if a non-color mayor made these statements of 'color' Press. YOU would be outraged for sure, and even more hate.

BTW her original statement made NO mention of ONE DAY, as you state. Her Press relations people had to "clarify" it after - realy a Cleanup and put out any flames.

You made NO mention of the B on B shooting and killings in the city. of course. typical - DIVERT.
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Recalling an ex President who refuses to appear or answer questions from any network that, n any way, disagreed with HIM on any subject. That was an everyday thing.

But that was not about race and to your earlier point, this forum has become a hate network. Not just blacks, but again, anyone who does not express fealty to the leader. Immigrants from any country that HE disliked, any member of his own party who does not express fealty is subject to wrath, and false accusations.

But, at the root of all of it, is hate. Explaining , as you did, the whys, etc. mean nothing. Once infected, it is a "disease" not easily cured, and overtime it infects all parts of your life. But, I guess fealty to the leader is primary to understanding, empathy, and most of all truth.

Who, pray tell was that?

Looks like someone learned a new word...

It's been used plenty of times ...out of context

And again in another post

Please don't put words in my mouth, you have no idea what I would say on any topic.

As a transplant Chicagoan familiar with the politics in Chicago and Illinois, I would hope with every election that things would get better…with the police, administration, state politicians, etc. But, not. It’s disgusting, self-serving, unacceptable, rude and just plain stupid. Glad I don’t have to view it on a daily basis anymore.