Minneapolis council candidate apologizes for saying she lacks 'the desired amount of melanin'

A Minneapolis Park Board member and candidate for the City Council said in a recent campaign email that she might not have "the desired amount of melanin."

Becka Thompson made the comment while explaining why she's running in Ward 12 against incumbent Aurin Chowdhury, who is Bengali American.

Thompson wrote in the email that some have intimated she has a "nefarious reason" for running against Chowdhury, but said she doesn't have "a negative view about the immutable God given characteristics of anyone, especially my opponent."

"I think we are each created beautifully unique and I celebrate that every chance I get," Thompson wrote. "That is not in play in my running. I'm here because I know how to read the financial projections and keep our city afloat."

A few lines later, she wrote that she "might not have the right haircut, or the desired amount of melanin." Melanin is a natural substance that determines the color of people's hair, skin and eyes.

"Maybe I didn't tweet the party line that one day or show up for that big protest with everyone else the next," Thompson continued. "I wasn't very good at doing the popular thing in high school either. It's just who I am."

Thompson is a commissioner of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board who has taught math for over 20 years, has an MBA in finance and has been a professional actor for several decades. She was fired by Minneapolis Public Schools last year over "inappropriate communication," but now teaches in another district.

Chowdhury worked for a decade in organizing, managed constituent services for the late state Sen. Kari Dziedzic and was a policy aide to Minneapolis Council Member Steve Fletcher and then Jason Chavez before she was elected to the council in 2023.

Chowdhury cheekily responded to Thompson's email remark with a May Day post on X wishing a happy Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander month from "this proudly brown, melanated, South Asian Council Member."

But Chowdhury told the Minnesota Star Tribune that Thompson's statement was "overtly racist" and sent a message that she was elected "for having brown skin."

"It strips away all the hard work, achievements, qualifications, hard-earned support, and experience of overcoming challenges that come with being a person of color from the picture," Chowdhury said in a statement. "In a time when the Trump administration is weaponizing diversity, equity, and inclusion against people of marginalized identities, these racist comments by my opponent prove she is not the leader we should have in Minneapolis. I'm going to keep focused on running a campaign that is people-centered and embraces diversity as one of our city's biggest strengths."

The following day, Thompson apologized, saying she'd heard from "members of our community who were hurt" by the comment, "which many felt were racially insensitive."

"While that was never my intention, I recognize that my words had an impact, and I take full responsibility for them," she wrote on Facebook. "I deeply regret causing offense or confusion. That's not reflective of who I strive to be, and I'm truly sorry. Moving forward, I will be more mindful and deliberate in how I communicate."

Fake website

Meanwhile, a fake Thompson campaign website falsely said she was running in Ward 14 (there is no such ward) in a jab at the fact that she lives in north Minneapolis, not southeast Minneapolis, where Ward 12 lies.

Thompson has said she was born and raised in Ward 12, and will move to the ward before the start of the next school year. Thompson was elected to represent District 2 (north Minneapolis) on the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board in 2021.