Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass joined the mayors of the nation’s three other largest cities Friday morning for a fireside chat on civil and human rights.
The chat opened the second day of the National Urban League Conference in Houston. Bass was joined by New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner. All four mayors are Black.
During her speech, Bass said she and her fellow mayors would be targeted by narratives about crime during the 2024 election.
“Coming into election season, the presidential season, they’re coming after the four of us,” she said. “Because the narrative of the Republicans is gonna be there's chaos in every single one of our cities, and what’s the subtext of that? Who’s running our cities?”
In the first few months of 2023, violent crime in L.A. was down more than 10% compared to 2022. Similar drops have been seen this year in cities across the country.
Bass said that Black mayors have the experience and strategies to prevent crime in their communities.
“There’s always the rap that Black folks are upset if it’s a law enforcement involved death, but say nothing when it’s Black on Black,” she said. “I reject that notion. That is not true. But unfortunately, the grassroots work that happens in all of our communities is never lifted up, and we need to invest more in that.”
Members of the Biden administration also spoke at the conference, including leaders from the Department of Labor and Department of Justice.
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