From his college days at Harvard to the presidential campaign, the South Bend, Ind., mayor has struggled to connect with African American communities.
a seminal work that explored the inner-tumult of a black girl who wanted white features in a world that didn’t appreciate her beauty. Buttigieg saw himself in Pecola Breedlove, the book’s main character. As the son of a Maltese immigrant with a funny name and a young man struggling with his sexual orientation, he, too, felt like an outsider.
Buttigieg said he saw their reality up close one summer when he visited his roommate, Uzodinma Iweala, a Nigerian American who lived in the wealthy, mostly white Washington suburb of Potomac, Md. In one day, Buttigieg kept seeing what he called “racial bullshit.” When Buttigieg and Iweala got back to college, they said, they became preoccupied with two questions: What makes an identity? And how do you speak to identities that are different?
But his friends noticed Buttigieg wasn’t just interested in the interpersonal nature of these discussions. He began asking another question: “How does difference impact experiences and participation in politics?” He even had to be talked out of being inaugurated at noon on New Year’s Day, when many of his black residents would still be in church.Buttigieg tried to assure black residents that these moves were not racially motivated, which left some flabbergasted.
“When it comes to Pete, I know there’s a lot of a backlash and truly he’s made a lot of mistakes,” she said. “But the real issue is not Pete; the issue is the worldview through which [his] decisions were being made. And I would say, one thing, as a credit to this leadership, he’s at least been able to listen.”
During a meeting over whether the city should commission a study looking at racial disparities in the distribution of city contracts, she reminded the group that the city had first promised to do the study in 1987. Other politicians were able to overcome differences — and form strong connections with the black community. Bill Clinton demonstrated such a comfort and knowledge of black culture that Morrison, the author, referred to him as “the first black president.
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