On Sunday, Universal Hub reported, the Boston Police Department tweeted a photo of the bronze statue of “Red” Auerbach outside Boston’s Faneuil Hall with the department’s comment:
“In honor of #BlackHistoryMonth we pay tribute to @celtics legend #RedAuerbach for being the 1st @NBA coach to draft a black player in 1950, field an all African-American starting five in 1964 and hire the league’s 1st African-American head coach (Bill Russell) in1966.”
Understandably, some people were upset with the Boston Police Department’s decision to honor a white boss instead of an actual black person for Black History Month.
Among them was Boston Mayor Marty Walsh who realeased a statement on Monday:
“Yesterday’s tweet from the Boston Police Department was completely inappropriate and a gross misrepresentation of how we are honoring Black History Month in Boston. We are celebrating the accomplishments and limitless contributions of the Black community to our city and the entire country, from Harriet Tubman to great leaders of today such as Chief Justice Ireland, artists like New Edition and Michael Bivins, powerful activists including Mel King and Superintendent Lisa Holmes, the first African-American woman to lead the Boston Police Academy training program. I am personally committing to the people of Boston that we will always honor our Black leaders, activists and trailblazers with the respect they deserve, not just in February, but every day and every month of the year.”
“BDP realizes that an earlier tweet may have offended some and we apologize for that,” the Boston Police Department had already tweeted at 12:10 Monday morning, according to Universal Hub. “Our intentions were never to offend. It has been taken down.”
Help us keep producing our great coverage of local arts, cultures and activism by contributing to Wonderland on Patreon. And sign up for our free, weekly newsletter so that you don’t miss any of our reporting.