Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot defended her controversial announcement to only give individual interviews to journalists of color and blasted Chicago media institutions for their "overwhelming whiteness and maleness" in an extraordinary letter on Wednesday.
In a two-page letter to the media, Lightfoot, the first Black woman as well as the first openly gay mayor in Chicago's history, praised her own 2019 election for "breaking barriers" and took a shot at media organizations in the city for not adequately addressing "institutionalized racism" in their ranks. Her decision to only speak to Black and Brown reporters, she said, was part of her lifelong battle to fight for diversity and inclusion.
Meanwhile:
Chicago Year to Date
Shot & Killed: 219
Total Shot: 1270
Total Homicides: 234
Chicago May to Date
Shot & Killed: 32
Total Shot: 223
Total Homicides: 35
In a two-page letter to the media, Lightfoot, the first Black woman as well as the first openly gay mayor in Chicago's history, praised her own 2019 election for "breaking barriers" and took a shot at media organizations in the city for not adequately addressing "institutionalized racism" in their ranks. Her decision to only speak to Black and Brown reporters, she said, was part of her lifelong battle to fight for diversity and inclusion.
Meanwhile:
Chicago Year to Date
Shot & Killed: 219
Total Shot: 1270
Total Homicides: 234
Chicago May to Date
Shot & Killed: 32
Total Shot: 223
Total Homicides: 35