RACE STUDY, POST RACE
Black leaders unsettled by timing of Globe series after mayoral election
Black leaders questioned the timing of a massive Boston Globe report on racial disparity in the city’s institutions, saying it should have been released during Tito Jackson’s campaign to become the city’s first black mayor.
They also questioned the disconnect between the Globe’s decrying of scarcity of blacks in the city’s top business and political leadership when the Globe endorsed incumbent Martin J. Walsh, the white establishment favorite, over Jackson, who is black and fought for the neighborhoods.
“They had this and they sat on this until after the election. If they were trying to inform the community ... they should have released it before the election,” said Larry Ellison, president of the Massachusetts Association of Minority Law Enforcement Officers. “How do you say all those things then endorse Marty Walsh as the best candidate?”
The Globe’s 4,000-word story — the first in a seven-part series that began yesterday — reports many black people find Boston unwelcoming. It notes the city has never had a black mayor and only 4.6 percent of black workers regionally are officials and managers — while corporate boardrooms across the state are only 1 percent black.
But while the story addresses a massive disparity in the city’s institutions and neighborhoods, it was being reported as Jackson was running a campaign against Walsh that focused on those very issues, frequently citing a statistic later reported in the Spotlight series that the median net worth of black households in Boston is $8, compared to $247,500 for white households.
The Globe, like the Herald, endorsed Walsh. Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts President Darnell Williams said that endorsement should have been affected by what the paper deemed a major problem.
Williams, who was among black community leaders who criticized U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren for endorsing Walsh as a slight to the city’s minorities, said, “The Globe’s position does not line up to its reporting. The report is reflecting the opposite of what they embraced.”
The Globe said in a statement to the Herald: “This kind of deeply committed journalism takes time, and there was no chance we could have been finished by Election Day. The fact is, that timing never was a factor with us; this isn’t a series about City Hall or a single election. It’s about the institutions of this region, the societal biases that are perceived to be in Boston, and the gaps that exist in equality and opportunity.”
Jackson declined to comment. Both Williams and Ellison agreed the report highlights issues well-known to the black community. Williams said the Urban League-commissioned State of Black Massachusetts report, released in 2015, had similar findings.
“This is nothing we didn’t already know,” Williams said, saying only massive action would result in change. “This is really at the foot of everyone in a position of power or influence in Massachusetts.”
“This is not news to those of us who have been paying attention,” Ellison said, adding that the lesson for minorities in general — not just the black community — is that they need to work together.
“If you don’t stand up, if you think division among communities of color works, you will be treated no better. Until communities pull together and work together, we’ll be talking about this 20 years from now. We’ll be talking about Latinos and say, guess what? Things haven’t improved for them, either,” Ellison said.