After Tuesday’s tragic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore after being struck by a malfunctioning cargo ship, online conversation about the deadly accident has included conspiracy theories, political attacks against officials in the Biden administration and those in state and local government, and racist comments. Now, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott is taking the criticism head-on, calling out his detractors and their biases.

As news about the bridge collapse continued to develop on Tuesday, several social media posters chose to tweet criticism of Scott, who conducted an early morning press conference shortly after the disaster. One post that had over 25 million views as of Thursday morning included video of Scott’s new conference with the message “This is Baltimore’s DEI mayor commenting on the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge.” Readers were quick to point out that the insult was both nonsensical and racist. Readers added a “community note” to the tweet stating that “Brandon Scott was elected as Mayor of Baltimore in 2020 with > 70% of the vote. He did not come in to office through any DEI practices, appointments, etc.”

Scott called out the criticism and the underlying racism directly when he appeared Wednesday on MSNBC’s The ReidOut. “Black men, and young Black men in particular, have been the boogeymen for those who are racist and think only straight wealthy white men should have a say in anything,” Scott told host Joy Reid. Directly referencing the “DEI” slam, Scott said, “And what they mean by DEI in my opinion is duly elected incumbent.” Scott didn’t ignore the underlying racism that has developed on social media, in which “DEI” is often used as an insult or way to undermine Black people in positions of power or authority. “We know what they want to say, but they don’t have the courage to say the N-word.”

The “DEI mayor” jab was not the only insult thrown at Scott or others. Scott was criticized for not wearing a suit during an early morning press conference shortly after the disaster.

Scott was wearing a City of Baltimore jacket; other social media users noted that he was dressed similarly to the way that various presidents, governors and other leaders tend to dress when visiting disaster sites.

A social media user mocked Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg for his past comments recognizing racial bias in the ways in which American infrastructure has been developed; his critic implied falsely that this attention to institutional racism was in any way connected to the bridge collapse.

 

These racist attacks have not taken away from the response to the bridge disaster, as recovery efforts remain for the construction workers who are believed to have died in the accident, and the federal government pledges to designate resources to rebuilding the bridge. But the online discourse does highlight how some people are eager to take any opportunity to promote racism or take shots at Black people in power.

Baltimore