Unlearning the rules about what a leader looks like

Also: Why can’t we seem to get enough of Princess Diana? [View in browser](    [❤️]( November 7, 2021 Dear Cog reader, You may know our contributor Neema Avashia for her insightful pieces about teaching in Boston’s public schools. She’s been a middle school teacher for over a decade and has written for Cog about [immigration]( and [xenophobia]( what “[safety]( really means in a classroom, and the need to give kids the [time and space to heal]( from 18 months of pandemic-related trauma. This week, she wrote a very personal piece about [Boston’s mayoral race]( – how it felt to see Michelle Wu, the first woman and person of color ever, be elected to the office. Her essay takes a close look at the history of Boston’s leaders (since 1822, every elected mayor has been a white man), but also at how power in communities of origin like hers, once thought to be derived from “proximity to whiteness,” is changing. She relays a story from childhood about a man who tried to inspire members of the small Indian community in her West Virginian town to get involved in politics – but how an unspoken message drowned out his good intentions: “Electoral politics wasn’t a realm for people like us.” Neema’s optimism over Wu’s decisive victory is tempered by the reality of lessons long taught about [who belongs and who doesn’t](. Also this week, a BU historian interrogates our [fascination with all things Princess Diana](. And we have several pieces about the U.N. climate conference in Glasgow, including: rich nations’ moral responsibility to compensate poorer nations for [climate harm]( water and sanitation as [human rights]( (but not according to the U.S.); and a [shot of optimism]( from environmental movement veteran Margie Alt, who leads coalition of 14 national organizations pushing for federal action on climate. Cloe Axelson Editor, Cognoscenti [Follow]( Support the news   Must Reads [Unlearning the 'rules' about what a leader looks like]( For the first time in 200 years, Boston's mayor elect is not a white man. The idea has taken some getting used to, writes Neema Avashia, even for people of color. [Read more.]( [Unlearning the 'rules' about what a leader looks like]( For the first time in 200 years, Boston's mayor elect is not a white man. The idea has taken some getting used to, writes Neema Avashia, even for people of color. [Read more.]( [Why can’t we seem to get enough of Princess Diana?]( Queens and princesses become screens onto which we project our beliefs about women’s worth, writes Arianne Chernock. [Read more.]( [Why can’t we seem to get enough of Princess Diana?]( Queens and princesses become screens onto which we project our beliefs about women’s worth, writes Arianne Chernock. [Read more.]( [Chin up, climate crusaders. We're about to rebuild America]( The U.S. is on the verge of making biggest the investment in tackling the climate crisis the world has ever seen, writes Margie Alt. We should be shouting that from the rooftops, not hanging our heads in shame or frustration. [Read more.]( [Chin up, climate crusaders. We're about to rebuild America]( The U.S. is on the verge of making biggest the investment in tackling the climate crisis the world has ever seen, writes Margie Alt. We should be shouting that from the rooftops, not hanging our heads in shame or frustration. [Read more.]( [Dear Mayor-elect Wu: Don’t forget your promise to make ‘a Boston for everyone’]( It is apparent that many of us in this city do not feel seen or heard, writes Makeeba McCreary. Mayor-elect Michelle Wu must address this apathy. [Read more.]( [Dear Mayor-elect Wu: Don’t forget your promise to make ‘a Boston for everyone’]( It is apparent that many of us in this city do not feel seen or heard, writes Makeeba McCreary. Mayor-elect Michelle Wu must address this apathy. [Read more.]( [Who should pay for the climate catastrophe?]( The most thorny debates on display at COP26 have to do with climate finance and justice. Rich nations have a moral responsibility to compensate poor nations for climate change harm, writes Frederick Hewett. [Read more.]( [Who should pay for the climate catastrophe?]( The most thorny debates on display at COP26 have to do with climate finance and justice. Rich nations have a moral responsibility to compensate poor nations for climate change harm, writes Frederick Hewett. [Read more.]( [Access to water is a human right. When will the U.S. government agree?]( Water policy should be a central concern for nations as they gather at COP26, writes Martha F. Davis. Currently, the U.S. is failing to anticipate and prevent the health threats and emergencies that arise from water neglect. [Read more.]( [Access to water is a human right. When will the U.S. government agree?]( Water policy should be a central concern for nations as they gather at COP26, writes Martha F. Davis. Currently, the U.S. is failing to anticipate and prevent the health threats and emergencies that arise from water neglect. [Read more.]( [Boston’s building boom presents big challenges for the next mayor to solve]( Traffic is terrible, we don't have enough affordable housing and construction releases massive amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Boston’s biggest building boom in generations is far from harmless, writes Eric Chivian. [Read more.]( [Boston’s building boom presents big challenges for the next mayor to solve]( Traffic is terrible, we don't have enough affordable housing and construction releases massive amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Boston’s biggest building boom in generations is far from harmless, writes Eric Chivian. [Read more.]( What We're Reading "This year, I decided it was time — beyond time — to wear my hair the way it feels right to me." ("[Why Boston TV anchor Latoyia Edwards now wears braids on the morning news]( The Boston Globe) "Because while the Wampanoags did help the Pilgrims survive, their support was followed by years of a slow, unfolding genocide of their people and the taking of their land." ("[This tribe helped the Pilgrims survive for their first Thanksgiving. They still regret it 400 years later.]( The Washington Post) "But a deep puzzle remains: Many people would have had happier lives and marriages had they chosen not to have kids — yet they still describe parenthood as the 'best thing they’ve ever done.'" ("[What Becoming a Parent Really Does to Your Happiness]( The Atlantic) "Without the right to vote, we live at the whims of people who are, to put it bluntly, more welcome than we are." — Chetan Tiwari, ["100,000 Bostonians won't be able to vote in the mayoral election. I'm one of them"]( ICYMI [What's missing in our debate over vaccinating kids]( Why should you vaccinate your child? About a million reasons, writes Ellen H. O'Donnell, starting with this. [Read more.]( [What's missing in our debate over vaccinating kids]( Why should you vaccinate your child? About a million reasons, writes Ellen H. O'Donnell, starting with this. [Read more.]( If you’d like to write for Cognoscenti, send your submission, pasted into your email and not as an attachment, to opinion@wbur.org. Please tell us in one line what the piece is about, and please tell us in one line who you are. This week's newsletter was produced by Cog editor Kathleen Burge. 😎 Forward to a friend. They can sign up [here](. 📣 Give us your feedback: newsletters@wbur.org 📧 Get more WBUR stories sent to your inbox. [Check out all of our newsletter offerings.]( Support the news     Want to change how you receive these emails? 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