PHILADELPHIA – A controversial article published in Philadelphia Magazine, ‘Being White in Philly, has prompted Mayor Nutter to probe the “sensitive racial issues” discussed.
The article, titled “Being White in Philly,” features a series of interviews with anonymous white residents from different areas of the city who share stories about their interaction with black residents.
Mayor Nutter calls the article’s tone “disgusting,” and he’s asked the Human Relations Commission to investigate some of the sensitive racial issues explored in the piece, CBS reports.
Nutter spokesman Mark McDonald says this is all about fact finding.
“I think he feels that there are enough problems in this article that it warrants a closer look,” McDonald explains.
PHRC executive director Rue Landau says the commission shares Mayor Nutter’s concerns, and they were already looking at intergroup relations in the city, particularly in changing communities.
The PHRC will hold a public meeting in the Fairmount/Brewerytown section of the city on April 18th, and residents are encouraged to attend to share their stories, concerns, and recommendations for changes. The location has yet to be determined.
In a statement, Philadelphia Magazine editor Tom McGrath says the mayor, like any reader, is entitled to think and say anything he wants about the article and that the need to have a deeper discussion about race in Philadelphia is exactly why they ran the story in the first place.
The full statement from Philadelphia Magazine’s editor Tom McGrath about Mayor Nutter’s letter to the PHRC reads:
“I applaud the mayor for asking for an inquiry into the state of racial issues in Philadelphia. The need to have a deeper discussion about race in Philadelphia is exactly why we ran our story in the first place.
Like any reader, the mayor is entitled to think and say what he wants about the story. That said, his sophomoric statements about the magazine and mischaracterization of the piece make me wonder if he’s more interested in scoring political points than having a serious conversation about the issues. Furthermore, his call for a “rebuke” of the magazine by the PHRC is rich with irony. This is the same mayor who just yesterday was shouted down by an unruly mob in City Council; now he himself wants shut down conversation about an important issue in our city. In short, the mayor loves the First Amendment–as long as he and the government can control what gets said.”
In this new PC world big brother needs to tell u what to think. I’m sure there are an equal amount of racist bro’s & crackers that would say disparaging remarks about each other. Although I wonder if u take the crime rate on a racial per capita basis which race would be considered the scourge of Philly??
You equate crime stats with race, and that’s what is wrong with the article. The issue is poverty. If you tracked the experiences of middle class whites who moved into poor white neighborhoods — or whose neighborhoods have become poorer — you would see the same criminal activity…except there would also likely be a spike in crystal meth cases and incest.
I am white and live in a middle income neighborhood in Oakland and the criminals are white and organized. They have robbed my neighbors and beaten them within an inch of their lives. Can’t blame Blacks or reverse-racism for garden variety criminal activity.
Mr Nutter, it’s called “freedom of speech” whether you agree with it or not! Your
“dear leader” has tragically divided the races for his own benefit.
As I read this, it seems Nutter wants only to investigate whether whites actually think or have experienced what the author of the article claims. It definitely doesn’t read like a news article or op-ed, but more like a short fiction piece…which the far-right is good at parading around as news –see Fox News, Drudge Report, etc.