WU LANDS KEY BLACK BLOC BACKING
Michelle Wu will have the support of Wakanda II, a group of Black leaders in Boston that first made a splash by helping to propel Rachael Rollins to victory in 2018.
“After an exhaustive process in which both candidates were drilled on an array of detailed questions critically important to Black residents of Boston, WAKANDA II endorses Councilor Michelle Wu,” the group said in a press release that hit reporters’ inboxes on Wednesday, giving a statement from former state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson, one of its leaders.
The group originally backed Acting Mayor Kim Janey in the preliminary election. Janey, who didn’t make it through the preliminary, is Black, as are the other two major candidates knocked out in the September election: City Councilor Andrea Campbell and former city economic development director John Barros.
Wu, who led the way in the preliminary contest, is of Asian descent, and fellow City Councilor Annissa Essaibi-George, who also advanced through the election, is the child of parents from Tunisia and Poland.
Wilkerson, a close confidant of Janey, famously resigned her state senator spot in 2008 before doing time federal prison after authorities got photographic evidence of her stuffing bribe money into her bra.
Organization member Priscilla Flint-Banks said Wu’s administration would be “grounded in equity and justice for all its residents.”
The first iteration of the Wakanda group — named for the fictional futuristic African nation in the Marvel movie “Black Panther” — coalesced in 2018 in an effort not to split the Black vote in the Suffolk County District Attorney race, backing then-little-known attorney Rachael Rollins in the crowded race for the open seat. Rollins won, and continues to hold the position, which in turn launched her to her current status as nominated to be U.S. Attorney for the state.
Neither Wu nor Essaibi-George generally did very will in areas with large numbers of Black or Hispanic voters. This endorsement comes as both of them look to expand their bases into those communities of color, which are seen as important swing constituencies in this election.
Wu has picked up the endorsements of Janey and other influential Black leaders including Sheriff Steven Tompkins and state Rep. Liz Miranda.
Meanwhile, Essaibi-George rolled out an “Equity, Inclusion & Justice Agenda” this week as she continues on a “Listen & Learn neighborhood conversation tour” in various neighborhoods around the city.