Mass. Pols Demand Colleague Quit or Attend Council Meetings in Person

Everett, Massachusetts, is among the cities hardest hit by the coronavirus in the state. But members of the City Council are pressuring a colleague—the only Black member—to quit or attend in-person meetings, even though she has a vulnerable family member at home. Gerly Adrien wants to participate through Zoom. The Boston Globe reports that she chalked up the request she resign to “prejudice and microaggression.” And, in fact, Council President Rosa DiFlorio complained to the Globe this summer that Adrien, 31, “has no respect for seniors or white people.” Meanwhile, video of last week’s meeting—where councilors complained about Adrien—was erased from the city’s video database—sparking a criminal investigation.