ConfigParser.read():

        Instead of wrapping 'filenames' value in a list if it's a
        string, wrap it if it's a string or unicode string.

Lib/ConfigParser.py

@@ -197,7 +197,7 @@ class ConfigParser:
         configuration files in the list will be read.  A single
         filename may also be given.
         """
-        if type(filenames) is type(''):
+        if type(filenames) in [type(''), type(u'')]:
             filenames = [filenames]
         for filename in filenames:
             try: