Mayor complains to Human Rights Commission about "Being White in Philly" article
Controversy over that problematic Philadelphia magazine March cover story called "Being White in Philly" continues to simmer. In the latest development, Mayor Michael Nutter has sent a letter to the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations decrying the "disgusting" tone of the piece.
Mayor complains to Human Rights Commission about "Being White in Philly" article
Jenice Armstrong, Daily News Columnist
Controversy over that problematic Philadelphia magazine March cover story called “Being White in Philly” continues to simmer. In the latest development, Mayor Michael Nutter has sent a letter to the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations decrying the “disgusting” tone of the piece and accusing the magazine of having “sunk to a new low even for a publication that has long pretended that its suburban readers were the only citizens civically engaged and socially active in the Philadelphia area.” In the piece, based on anonymous interviews, Robert Huber makes the claim that white people are afraid to talk about race for fear of being called racist.
“That the magazine thought a collection of these despicable, over-generalized, mostly anonymous assumptions rose to the level of journalism is unfortunate enough,” the mayor wrote. “Worse, some of the residents of the nation’s fifth-largest city who are quoted in the piece seem to have ignored every positive anecdote they might otherwise have shared about a positive experience with African-Americans in favor of negative stories, many of them not even clearly attributable to African-Americans at all, to allow the author to feed his own misguided perception of African-Americans – notwithstanding his own acknowledged daily experiences on his own block – as an ethnic group that, in its entirety, is lazy, shiftless, irresponsible, and largely criminal.”
Nutter asked that the Human Relations Commission “consider specifically whether Philadelphia magazine and the writer, Bob Huber are appropriate for rebuke by the Commission in light of the potentially inflammatory effect and the reckless endangerment to Philadelphia’s racial relations possibly caused by the essay’s unsubstantiated assertions.”
Commission head Rue Landau has already responded saying, “The Commissioners and I share the concerns of the Mayor regarding the racial insensitivity and perpetuation of harmful stereotypes portrayed in the Philadelphia Magazine piece. We will take up the Mayor’s charge and, as a matter of fact, we are already looking at intergroup relations in the city, particularly in changing communities.”
The commision will take up the topic at their next public meeting which will be in the Fairmount/Brewerytown community, the geographical focus of the Philly mag piece. The meeting, which is open to the public, is scheduled for 6 p.m. April 18 at a location to be announced.
Meanwhile, in a related development, Philadelphia magazine editor Tom McGrath sent me an email on March 15 confirming details about a March 18 panel discussion called “Can We Talk About Race?” McGrath will moderate the discussion at the National Constitution Center which will be followed by a town hall session. Robert Huber, author of “Being White in Philly,” will be on the panel as will writer Solomon Jones, activist Chris Norris and Farah Jiminez , who heads up the People’s Emergency Center.
On March 19, McGrath is scheduled to meet with members of the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists. Norris, along with some Temple University, has organized a “Being in Philly” gathering for March 20, the first day of spring. There’ll be music and free water ice giveaways. Norris, the founder of Techbook Online, says he wants to show a positive side of black life in Philadelphia. According to Norris, Huber has agreed to attend.
- Look at the articles written not just in Philly, all over America.
The journalists are not anonymous and have to give real effort at being impartial even if they do live in a city.
But the anonymous comments.
Telling.
The recent Traffic Court 'scandal'.
Stories with a White (judge) face on the cover, few comments, little emotion except for sometimes sympathy.
Stories with a Black (judge) face, massive comments full of emotion offering reasons for eliminating everything from PUBLIC Buses to Big Bird...anything with a "B" up front.
"No matter what Bill Cosby or any first Black mayor says it cannot stop the so obvious and self-evident American commentary"...Anne Frank, 1945 on the birth of Bill Cosby....She was that good.— Cuddles 
I have an abandoned house next to me. It has garbage all over the place, raccoons go inside, and the inspectors come but do nothing. They give some excuse about some phony judge that has to give a clean and seal order, but that hasn't happened after all this time. Mayor stop talking about this nonsense and clean up this filthy city!— meowmix99- T could care less of people think of me as racist. They over used words and it is now useless. Black people have cost this country billions and billions of dollars. They give back absoultry nothing. Most white people oare the providers and most black people are the takers. Now you can call me racist.— smokehouse56
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I am glad he said something about a blatantly racist article. I hope he mentions that kid yelling "That's Racist" too in the piece that purported to it.- Another Professional Victim here, lol...
— Professor1982 
Comment removed.- There is something wrong with you too. "Dirty, smelly weave" and you are saying there is no racism here? Are you that unbalanced?
- Sorry, you just can't understand unless your white.— smedlybutler
- Mr. Urkel, you do know people have freedom of speech in the US don't you?
— ricciaje - Got any Cheese?— ricciaje
- Did you realize that no one in American history (respected outside of their neighborhood) has ever admitted to being racist. This holds up surprisingly well even on a google search.
Not George Washington or Benamin Banaker
Not Abe Lincoln or Frederick Douglas
Not George Wallace or Malcolm X
Not Pat Bucannon or Jesse Jackson
Imagine that.— Cuddles - SURELY , THERE IS MORE RACISM IN PHILADELPHIA TODAY THAN THE 60'S.— collegestudent
- Professor1982 must have finished his dinner because he is back on the computer and posting amok again.
- Nobody likes ugly truths.— DanielNeagley
Read more from Jenice Armstrong at Earth to Philly, the Daily News blog on anything and everything "Green."
Reach Jenice at armstrj@phillynews.com.
