EDUCATION, BUSINESS, AND government entities in the Bay State expressed outrage and despair at the US Supreme Court decision striking down the use of race in college admissions, which sets […]
Race/Racism
Posted inRace/Racism
Could Harvard affirmative action ruling threaten Boston exam school policies?
ALL EYES IN the higher education world are on the Supreme Court, which is expected to rule any day on whether universities can use race as a factor in admissions […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Time to enact new rules for use of facial recognition software
LAST NOVEMBER, on the day after Thanksgiving, yet another Black man was wrongfully arrested due to racially biased face surveillance. Randall Reid was detained on his way to dinner with […]
Posted inEconomy
State economic development plan must include entrepreneurs of color
STATE LAW REQUIRES the governor to present the Legislature with an economic development strategy every four years. Crafted with input from a council of business and civic leaders, these plans […]
Posted inEconomy
Antiracist think tank emerges in Northampton
THINK TANKS come in all shapes and sizes, with political philosophies that range left, right, and center. The new Western Massachusetts Policy Center in Northampton is setting out to be different. […]
Posted inRace/Racism
Mel King remembered as ‘humble and generous humanist’ for justice
MEL KING was remembered Tuesday as a champion for justice who had a global vision of a better world that was shaped profoundly by the very local wrongs he saw […]
Posted inHousing, Opinion, Politics, Race/Racism
Understanding Mel King’s ‘Chain of Change’
Pat Walker served as field director for Mel King’s historic 1983 campaign for mayor of Boston, when he became the first Black candidate to win a spot in the final […]
Posted inEconomy
Greater Boston’s Black population becoming more diverse, dispersed
WHEN THE PRESIDENT of Cape Verde visited Massachusetts earlier this week, after meeting with Gov. Maura Healey at the State House, his big public appearance didn’t come in Boston but at […]
Posted inPolitics
For Ed Flynn, awkward roles of race healer and redistricting foe
WHEN WILLIAM FAULKNER famously observed that “the past is never dead, it isn’t even past,” he wasn’t referring to Boston’s troubled history on matters of race – but he might as […]
Posted inPolitics
Mel King: A singular Boston sensation
MEL KING looms as the iconic figure above all others of Black Boston’s last 50 years, but it’s not because he fit any archetypal picture of an outspoken activist or […]
Posted inOpinion
Breaking the cycle of poverty with affordable housing
DURING BLACK HISTORY MONTH, we paused as a nation to reflect on and honor the role Black Americans have had in our country’s history. While this is essential, it is equally […]
Posted inArts and Culture
‘The Embrace’ is good art, but not good public art
I AGREE WITH those who say “The Embrace” tribute to Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King is good art. But it may not be good public art. Good public […]
Posted inRace/Racism
Healey calls King statue important given Boston’s ‘narrative’
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE AS SHE PREPARES to speak at the unveiling of The Embrace, a Boston Common monument honoring the lives and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. […]
Posted inRace/Racism
Blacks, Jews must stand together against antisemitism
ANTISEMITISM IS SPREADING across America like an unforgiving wildfire fueled by harmful tropes against Jewish people by misinformed celebrities, prejudiced politicians and bigoted neighbors in our community. Just days ago, […]
Posted inOpinion
Fight racism, pause development on public land in Roxbury
CITY OFFICIALS deliberately designed Boston to separate the Black community and prevent it from taking advantage of the economic success Boston has seen. Nowhere is this more more evident than […]
Posted inOpinion
A world without Black Twitter is difficult to think about
BEFORE THE DEATHS of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Philando Castile and Sandra Bland were propelled into the media spotlight, their names were Twitter #hashtags. In 2020, Twitter was essential to […]
Posted inRace/Racism
Why are Black teens more likely to be arrested?
THE POLICE are four times more likely to physically arrest a Black teen than a White teen for a juvenile offense. But why is that? Do Black teens commit more […]
Posted inOpinion
Jackson’s stand against ‘colorblind’ Constitution
IN HER celebrated exchange with Alabama’s Solicitor General, the newest Supreme Court Justice, Ketanji Brown Jackson, eviscerated his argument that our Constitution is and should be “colorblind.” Rather, she declared, the intent of […]
Posted inEconomy
Closing the racial wealth gap
IT’S BEEN MORE than seven years since the Boston Federal Reserve Bank published a report, titled “The Color of Wealth in Boston,” that has served as something of a regional […]
Posted inOpinion
Time for Boston sports team owners to up their civil rights game
HAVEN’T WE HAD enough racist behavior in the seats of Boston’s pro sports venues? Segregationist management practices and racial animus in the stands are as old as pro sports in […]
Posted inPolitics, Race/Racism
Healey regrets 2020 comment on ‘how forests grow’
ON JUNE 2, 2020, eight days after the murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis, Attorney General Maura Healey gave a speech to the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce […]
Posted inArts and Culture
How allyship helped make Bill Russell a legend
ON A BRIGHT and otherwise perfect afternoon at Fenway Park, just before the start of Sunday’s game, the PA announcer shared the news of Bill Russell’s passing. Many, if not […]
Posted inRace/Racism
Baker signs law banning hairstyle discrimination
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Tuesday signed the CROWN Act into law, making Massachusetts the 18th state to ban discrimination based on “natural hairstyles.” The governor held a joyous bill signing […]
Posted inEducation
Black girls disciplined in school more often than Whites
IN THE LAST normal school year before the pandemic, Black girls in Massachusetts were disciplined in school at more than three times the rate of white girls. Often, Black girls […]
