As wildfires began to engulf parts of Los Angeles and its surrounding communities, many people online, including celebrities and politicians, were quick to criticize the city’s mayor, Karen Bass, accusing her of poor leadership and slow response times as she rushed back to the city from Ghana. That criticism came though it was still unclear what ignited the fires that have since left at least 25 people dead, destroyed thousands of homes and charred nearly 40,000 acres.
In response, numerous Black women have come to her defense, saying that Ms. Bass is facing a double standard that they feel many Black female leaders confront in this country.
Among those pushing for patience and fair treatment is Areva Martin, a Los Angeles civil rights lawyer. In a post on X, she called out what she described as “pervasive disinformation” about Ms. Bass. In a phone interview on Tuesday, Ms. Martin said the political climate in the country had played a huge role in the criticism of Ms. Bass.
“We have seen the far right capitalizing on natural disasters and other tragedies and using them as an opportunity to sow division and chaos and to cause doubt about the leadership of Democratic-elected officials, particularly African American elected officials,” Ms. Martin said.