Below is my column in The Hill on the reemergence of separate but equal policies from housing to graduation to even holiday parties. Many on the left are now embracing race-based exclusions as a certain article of faith. That was vividly shown in the race-based holiday party thrown recently by Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.
Here is the column:
For some, it seems, Christmas is so last century, and “Festivus” is so last decade.
Happy Plessivus, the new rage in politically correct holiday celebration.
Now, as we approach the 70th anniversary of the rejection of Plessy v. Ferguson and the concept of separate-but-equal with the Supreme Court’s 1954 landmark ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, many people seem to be embracing racial segregation as a public good.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu offered just such an alternative with a holiday party that excluded guests on the basis of race. Wu was criticized after her staff mistakenly sent the entire city council an invitation to the party at the city-owned Parkman House. However, the invitation told white city council members that they could not attend due to their race.
It was not exactly what most of us think of as being in the spirit of the holidays. Yet, it is precisely what Wu wanted to capture for a racialized holiday theme with a hefty helping of identity politics.
It seems that, today, the three kings would be told by the angel to just drop off the gold, frankincense and myrrh at the door of the stable if they were not the right race.
What was most striking about the controversy is that Wu’s office apologized — but not for the racially exclusive policy. It apologized for sending the invite to white city council members.
Despite the criticism, Wu proudly posted a photo of all the attendees at her “electeds of color” holiday party. Six of the city’s 13 council members are people of color.
Imagine the reaction if the mayor held a holiday party only for white city council members. She would be called the Bull Connor of Christmas.
Yet, such racism is now not just acceptable but seemingly popular. The mayor used official property and staff to hold a racially segregated event, but many in Boston were apparently thrilled.
Roughly 20 years ago, I wrote about how we seemed to be moving toward a revival of separate-but-equal in schools, dorms, graduation ceremonies, events, and academic programs that excluded some students on the basis of race.
Some supporters defended Wu by arguing that such racial segregation is needed to make minorities feel safe or accepted, even on the ultra-left Boston city council, on which members of color are one seat short of an outright majority.
The case for such race-exclusive dinners was made by then-Justice Henry Billings Brown almost 125 years ago, when he explained that some people simply find the “commingling” of races to be “unsatisfactory.” He said that for a 7-2 majority in Plessy v. Ferguson.
It is not the taste of discrimination but the ease of the discrimination that is so alarming. Racial segregation now appears to be an article of faith for too many on the left.
It has gotten to the point that Super Bowl champion running back Rashard Mendenhall was entirely comfortable in declaring that whites are “not even good at football. Can we please replace the Pro Bowl with an All-Black vs. All-White bowl so these cats can stop trying to teach me who’s good at football.”
That could be the perfect combination for the racially intolerant: A race-based holiday dinner at Mayor Wu’s house, followed by a racially segregated holiday football game.
Wu’s dinner and Mendenhall’s posting are, ultimately, trivial matters compared to a wide array of policies and programs that are again dividing the nation along racial lines.
Courts have repeatedly found the Biden administration to be engaging in racial discrimination in such programs. In Wisconsin, for example, a federal court stopped Biden’s controversial $4 billion race-based federal relief program for farmers, holding that white farmers were found to be “experiencing discrimination at the hands of their government.” Another court held that the administration engaged in systemic discrimination in implementing COVID-19 relief for restaurants and bars.
The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that racial discrimination does not become good policy despite being carried out with the best of motivations. In 1989, in City of Richmond v. J.A. Croson Co., the high court ruled that “legislative assurances of good intention cannot suffice.”
The public agrees. A majority has long rejected racial criteria in areas like college admissions. Yet, despite the Supreme Court recently declaring such criteria to constitute racial discrimination, some colleges and universities are circumventing the decision with new pathways to maintain race-based admission goals.
Such politicians and educators are responding to a segment of our population driven by identity politics — even for holidays. Christmas is now viewed by some as just another race-based jump scare, seen through the lens of race and the dangers of what some have called “white privilege” disguised as Santa.
There is an alternative: We could use this holiday to celebrate our shared values and strengthen our interconnectedness. Instead of looking through the lens of race, we could just look at each other as individuals — even if it is just once a year.
Instead, we seem to have our own versions of “Krampus,” who would come around every year to chase naughty children and maybe even drag them to hell. In Germany, Krampus added an edge to the holidays; you had to escape Krampus trying to hit you with a stick and stuff you into his satchel to make it to the big holiday payoff.
The one thing you have to hand Krampus, however, is that he did not discriminate. He would bag anyone for the holiday.
Jonathan Turley is the J.B. and Maurice C. Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at the George Washington University Law School.
Bottom line: Mayor WU is not comfortable interacting with persons of paleness and has been trying to hide it. She could use some DEI training. 😉
@Anonymous: RE: “Bottom line:..” As long as the Chinese restaurants continue to remain open at Christmas for ‘persons of paleness’ to take advantage of, her comfort level is irrelevant to me and to the gross receipts of the proprietors of same, I’m sure.
Why don’t we just admit that humans are clannish and tribal. Always have been, always will be and stop making laws that force us to go against our natural instincts. I realize that there is a streak of intellectually created altruism that would want us to all “COEXIST” but it seems that it never truly functions that way. Seperate but equal might have been the best idea but we screwed that up and now we are back to segregation via government fiat – I would find that totally and ironically hilarious if it werent going to end badly.
“[H]umans are clannish and tribal.”
Don’t blame human nature for evil choices. Doing so excuses the evil, and condemns Man.
Humans forming tribes based on ethnicity is not evil. It is an anthropological inevitability.
@Anonymous: RE:”Humans forming tribes based on ethnicity is not evil…” Therefore, accepting that the ‘tribe’ claiming 23% of the Nobel Prizes awarded reflects anthropological inevitability should be without question and reproach.
ZZDoc: Members of all races have received Nobel Prizes. Not sure what your point is.
@Anonymous: RE: “Members of all races….” Anthropology is defined as ‘the study of human societies and cultures and their development.’ The task at hand now is for you to enlighten yourself as to which cultural group holds claim to that 23% and divine the intent of my comment.
Doc: Where did you find this 23% quantity you keep repeating?
“It is an anthropological inevitability.”
Which is another word for determinism — which is the premise for racism.
Sam: Tribalism in the study of the development of human societies has historically been an observable behavior not related to racism.
Incidentally, did you know that in non-human primate societies they segregate young males?
“. . . has historically been an observable behavior not related to racism.”
Then someone needs to do more thinking, and less observing. Tribalism is ethnic collectivism, i.e., racism.
“. . . non-human primate societies . . .”
Did you know that we’re talking about humans, not apes?
As I have stated more than a few times here on the good professor’s blog, I am not white.
Even I see this as racism.
Separating people in to different groups based off race is exactly what the 1960s Civil Rights movement was fighting against.
Upstate, you are a threat to liberals.
HullBobby,
I tend to think of it as I am a threat to ill-liberal woke leftists.
I tend to think long time liberal Democrats like Bill Maher, Elon Musk, James Carville, the good professor and my sister would consider me to be a common sense Independent calling out the insane and stupid that parts of the Democrat party has embraced in wokeism.
If I am a threat to the woke leftist ill-liberals, well, everyone has to be good at something! 🙂
Upstate, judging by your great comments I’m guessing that you are good at many things.
And a very Merry Christmas to you, sir!
A threat because Upstate uses core values, reason and logic. Not even a wiff of identity involved. The left is slack jawed in the presence of such rebellion.
Iowan2,
“A threat because Upstate uses core values, reason and logic.”
That right there.
Well said.
And it is when faced with those core values, reason and logic that our leftists friends fail to rise to the occasion of what is moral, decent and common sense. We see it when they use their mental gymnastics, their word salad to justify their immoral acts, their exploitation of children, their Hitler, Mao and Iran like totalitarianism to defend democracy, so they say.
Archie sums up the Democrats view of America.
Hey, I’m pretty sure I’ve gotten a happy ending from that Wu chick.
whats hilarious is besides her hubby being caucasian..wu is WHITE!!
“School District Decides Asians Aren’t Students of Color”
EUGENE VOLOKH | 11.16.2020 7:54 PM
The ‘Whitening’ of Asian Americans By Iris Kuo The Atlantic
The Washington Post
May 29, 2014 · How the Asians became white. By Eugene Volokh. May 29, 2014
At least it didn’t happen in the southern states. They would have sent in federal troops and suspended habeas corpus to all white people and taken down more statues.
The people who cry about threats don’t get it. Maybe they deserve to feel threatened. Like how the British felt threatened
by the armaments in Concord.
DEI is GROUP based on hatred of WHITES and Males especially and SHOULD BE ILLEGAL!
Time to OUTLAW quotes. Or MAKE the NBA 87% non-black!
is NAACP raced based…if so it should be abolished or at least have ALL TAXPAYER money ENDED!
Also any non-profit where ANYONE Gets $100k…should be a TAXABLE entity.
Democrats have a WHOLE NON-PROFIT world…that PROFITS THEM!
The only thing left to do is to start my own “gun club”.
well Republicans COULD END all Federal Aid to Boston and other cities. Then let them SELF fund their Devil worship parties…and housing Illegals, etc
The Colorado judges should lose their jobs for being incompetent.
Democrats are Fascists…who divide people while consolidating power
Think 1930’s Fascists in Germany, Italy, Mao China, Stalin Russia, etc
We need a New Nuremberg Trial….to jail the THOUSANDS of Democrats in Government committing crimes across the country.
Russian Hoax Conspiracy
The endless Selling of our government….go look at the Hunter Biden Laptop at BidenReport dot com.
The conspiracy of the BLM and January 6th setups
The prosecutions of Trump, the people around him and other actual republicans!
Helping Illegals
Jail them BY THE Thousands!!! They are BREAKING LAWS EVERYWHERE
Also End all Federal Aid to Colleges, cities and states…let Democrats FUND their Own Failure…not other taxpayers!
You know, once I grew up and reached adulthood at 18 in Georgia (you could vote at that age and be drafted), I never knowingly attended any racially select meeting, official or otherwise. I simply would refuse to go. That was 1966 and even then segregation had not been totally dismantled, but, officially it was nearly gone. I have never changed that view and habit.
And actually it is a rather easy thing to do. You just did it. No words or speeches about how pure and virtuous I was. Just a simple act. To segregate you really have to act, you have to plan and you have to decide to do it. Or not. In a way it was so simple.
As a physician I saw everyone. In my first 15 years after fellowship, I was practicing Critical Care and Pulmonary disease. And there was no time to fiddle around about what color or ethnicity a person was. The only time that race ever came into play was when there was the possibility of a particular medical condition that showed a preponderance in a specific racial group or ethnic group. I continued the same practice after leaving critical care.
It was really wonderful to walk into a room and deal with people who were just sitting there in the office with one minor complaint or they were on a gurney bleeding all over with people rushing around yelling orders and trying to save a life.
Basically you had a problem to deal with in that particular patient and all that existed was you and that patient and what you had to do to solve the problem. If you went in with preconceived biases you would miss something critical and possibly kill your patient. No joke.
I came to think of that closed door to an exam room or a shock room as a portal into another life and I had to be ready to discuss anything or do anything to save that life. When you toss all those preconceived thoughts and emotions aside, you can learn wondrous things about your patients and hear incredible tales about their lives and accomplishments and be totally astounded at what you have learned, especially if you spread that thinking to your everyday life. Your prejudices really narrow your focus and your life and the world becomes 1 dimensional and very bland and somewhat hopeless. You can make it otherwise.
Inspiring comment on so many levels! Merry Christmas GEB!
It seems we got too close to racial harmony in this country for those needing a race-based profession. How they believe maintaining their livelihoods with racist-based behavior is a quandary. Did Ms Wu forget how many of her supporters in Boston are white? How is it the remnant of the “old” democrat philosophy still hold to a party that has done a full about face, 180 degree turn from peace, love and racial harmony to blatant hatred for anything white? Only one force can I think of could make this kind of sweeping turn in such a short time…evil. Those supporting this thinking have been possessed, consumed, bedeviled…crazed by a power bigger than them collectively. It will take a power bigger than THAT to undo what they’ve done. We’re in a bad place.
Its big business. Look how rich the BLM leaders got by peddling a relatively low number of unarmed blacks being killed by police (some justified some not) into the SLAUGHTER of our black youth.
“That was vividly shown in the race-based holiday party thrown recently by Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.”
Nothing says “inclusion” like excluding the “wrong” race.
Don’t you just love DEI? A tribalist’s dream. And a civilized person’s nightmare.
I am not fan of Mayor Wu but it’s very embarrassing for Professor Turley that he gets this story completely wrong. There is an organization here in Massachusetts of “people of color” who are elected public officials in all 352 cities and towns. There are also such organizations of elected public officials who are members of the Knights of Columbus, pharmacists, gay, lawyers (looking at you Professor), undertakers, and — probably – black but not Asian or Native American. That group has had a holiday season party for years hosted by one of the many towns and cities in which those public officials are/were elected. This year it was Boston’s turn. The party had nothing to do with the Boston City Council (other than that some of its members belong to the group having the party).
“. . . Massachusetts of ‘people of color’ . . .”
So if I host a “whites only” Christmas party, I can escape the charge of racism by claiming: I merely hosted it for someone else.
“There are also such organizations of . . .”
So you see, the KKK has a party with its chosen members, just as dentists have a party with their chosen members. While completely evading the basis for that choice. Hint: One is racist. The other is not.
My point is that the party has NOTHING to do with the Boston City Council
“. . . the party has NOTHING to do with the Boston City Council”
Hogwash.
Those Members who attended that racist party are racists.
Those 6 who attended, and those 7 who did not denounce, have transformed Boston from the Sons of Liberty to the Sons of Tribalism.
Dennis, you are even more wrong than usual. This was a BOSTON CITY COUNCIL party, a party for the Boston City Council members of color. This was held in the Parkman House, a CITY OWNED building. This wasn’t part of a state wide group, or a Knight’s group, or MA people of color, it was for the Boston City Council and the Boston City Council only.
The simple question that fools like you will never answer is would it be ok for a white mayor to have a party for only white city council members? Would it be ok for Harvard to have a graduation ceremony for white students and only white students? Would it be ok to have a White Caucus in the House? Would it be ok to have a white Miss America? Would it be ok to have a white tv station?
It get’s so frustrating reading people like Dennis, Svelaz and the bad “Anonymous” always having a need to disagree with even the most common sense points that Professor Turley might make in one of his columns. This contrarian mindset is a mental pathology that must be a lot of fun to be married to or to have in your family or friend group.
There are also such organizations of elected public officials who are members of the Knights of Columbus, pharmacists, gay, lawyers
Neat, it perfectly acceptable to judge people by immutable characteristics.
We all remember when the race issue was mostly behind us. Then Obama showed up and took us all back to pre WWII racism.
Fun fact. Blacks who’s parents immigrated to the US, actually have greater success rates than Whites.
Its not the color of their skin that keeps the black man down. Its the content of their character.
Scott Adams advises to stay far away from Blacks as far as possible. The only safe space is far far away from the Race Hustler.
Except that the invitations were sent to the city council and only the city council. Idiot
By the way, dennis byron is a elvis bug sock puppet, who claims hermaphrodite is no longer a word because wikipedia says so.
Here is also turdrunner
Right now in this country, we’ve decided the answer to fighting racism is to be racist. And on the flip side, being racist is the epitome of insult. We’ve lost sight of what racism is, Dennis. Having “people of color” events that exclude ANYONE is racist, and it appears Wu’s invitation said “no whites”. In your response, you mention other organizations that co-mingle professions with race – that, too, is racist. Prof Turley isn’t completely wrong – he just didn’t take the time or space to include everything racist, and just because everyone has their version of this privileged exclusion, doesn’t make it not racist.
Henry
If you want to argue that there should be no such thing as the Black or Hispanic or Pharmacists Congressional Caucus (or similar groups at other levels), go for it. No argument from me.
But no the invitation did not say “No Whites.” A kid sending out the invites just screwed up and sent it to five white Boston City Council members by mistake. This party had NOTHING to do with the Boston City Council. Two of the white city council members who got the invite by mistake (the only one who got it who were not member of the group having the party I believe) commented by saying “The kid sending out the invites just screwed up. Get over it. We could care less”
Henry
If you want to argue that there should be no such thing as the Black or Hispanic or Pharmacists Congressional Caucus (or similar groups at other levels), go for it. No argument from me. That was not my complaint with the Professor’s blog post
The invitation did not say “No Whites.” A kid sending out the invites just screwed up and sent it to five white Boston City Council members by mistake. This party had NOTHING to do with the Boston City Council. Two of the white city council members who got the invite by mistake (the only one who got it who were not member of the group having the party I believe) commented by saying “The kid sending out the invites just screwed up. Get over it. We could care less”
“The kid sending out the invites just screwed up.”
In other words: The only thing the tribalists are embarrassed about is that they got caught with their racist pants down.
So Dennis seems to think that sending an invitation to have a party with ONLY “electeds of color” is not the same as an invitation that says “whites only”? Please explain how they are different. If a university states that only white students can apply is that the same as saying that students of color need not apply? Can a country club say that Jews and Blacks need not apply by saying that only whites will be invited to play golf that day?
Excellent defense: “We do it every year!” 👏
How embarrassing for JT. He failed to recognize just how deep and wide (systemic) the anti-white racism is in Massachusetts. sarc/off
Actually it’s the other way around. The most racially gerrymandered Congressional districts in the U.S. are MA 7th and 8th drawn in a convoluted way to make sure one part of Boston could only possible elect a person of color and that the other could only possible elect a white Irishman. Roberts called out these districts which have been racially gerrymandered for years in the court case that ended part of the VRA
Coincidentally the two are politically gerrymandered as well designed so that Boston gets two Congresspeople when its population does not even deserve one
Good point, except that you are wrong. All of those organizations are based on concept i.e. profession, religion, etc., not race. I am sure none of those exclude membership based on race except the KKK and “elected of color”. By the way, is white a color?
Concept of RACE? You aren’t very good at LOGIC
I bet you believe you can CHANGE Gender Daily!
Let me rephrase, and take out the word concept. Feel better?
By the way, why are you yelling at me? Do you think people will agree with you because you yell at them? Does it make you feel better?
And no, I do not believe you change gender.
Happy Holidays!
“Let me rephrase . . .”
No need. Anybody with more than two brain cells knew what you were saying. SCREAMING, though, tends to kill brain cells.
So I thought Sam.
The Democrats need 90%+ black support to be competitive in national elections. At the same time other, better organized pressure groups, such as unionized teachers, Greens and defund the police fanatics, favor policies that are objectively bad for blacks. So blacks get tokenism like segregated holiday parties.
I heard that Mayor Wu will be holding a “whites only” Holiday party at Sen. Whitehouse’s private beach club. She can’t go, but her husband can.
Wrong state
Hey! Krampus! Got one over here for you!
If one is looking for a whites only club, Sen. Whitehouse has one. So what if it’s in a neighboring state. Good grief! You missed the point!