WHEN NNEKA HALL was pregnant with her third child, she had a symptom of preeclampsia, a serious pregnancy complication, but her doctor never caught it. Hall felt her daughter hiccuping […]
Race/Racism
Posted inOpinion, Race/Racism
Juneteenth a chance for new customs and rituals
TWO YEARS AFTER George Floyd and just days after the final victims of last month’s racial murders in Buffalo, it’s hard not to reflect on America’s long and painful history […]
Posted inOpinion, Race/Racism
Zoning has played a major role in racial segregation
IN RESPONSE TO decades of rising housing costs across the Commonwealth, Massachusetts recently amended the state zoning act to require local governments to reform their zoning laws. The amendments are […]
Posted inOpinion
Finding teachers of color starts with mentoring
THE PANDEMIC has taken a terrible toll on school children, costing them not just in lost time learning, but in the socialization skills necessary to succeed. For students of color, […]
Posted inRace/Racism
King sculpture on Boston Common breaks ground
BOSTON UNIVERSITY STATEHOUSE PROGRAM A LARGE GROUP of dignitaries held a ceremonially groundbreaking at the Boston Common on Wednesday for the “Embrace,” a sculpture commemorating the moment when Dr. Martin […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
For Wilkerson, a looming question of culpability
TENACITY ALONE SOMETIMES brings its own rewards, and Dianne Wilkerson certainly looks determined to complete her return from the political wilderness more than a decade after being sent off to […]
Posted inEducation
Reimagining access to college in Roxbury
EDUCATORS AND POLICYMAKERS have been talking about providing all students access to college and career pathways for decades. The impact of technical training and two-year and four-year degrees on earnings […]
Posted inRace/Racism
No easy glide path for Black marijuana CEOs
BLACK AND LATINO men were disproportionately incarcerated for decades for drug-related offenses. But when it comes to participating in the emerging legal marijuana industry, only 4 percent of cannabis company […]
Posted inOpinion
Do the math on gender, racial wage gaps
YOU’RE HAVING a conversation with a close coworker that takes an unexpected turn when he reveals that he has gotten the promotion you were both up for. An uncomfortable feeling […]
Posted inRace/Racism
House votes to ban hairstyle discrimination
IN 2017, Mya and Deanna Cook, 15-year-old twins, were disciplined because they wore box braids to school at Mystic Valley Regional Charter School in Malden. Box braids and other protective […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
A steep fall for Cannon-Grant
FOR MONICA CANNON-GRANT, the limelight has proved to be a decidedly double-edged sword. The long-time Black Boston activist rocketed to prominence amid the country’s racial reckoning of recent years. It […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Shifting narrative on report on traffic stops
WHEN THE LEGISLATURE passed a law banning the use of handheld cell phones while driving, a major concern voiced by lawmakers was that it would be enforced disproportionately against Black […]
Posted inEconomy
We should use remaining ARPA funds to combat racial inequity
CONFRONTING INEQUITY BY race in housing, education, wealth and business investment is the smartest use of the state’s remaining $2.3 billion in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. It is […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
We need to strengthen Mass. hate crimes law
FEBRUARY 23, 2020. On this date, two years ago, three men stalked and murdered Ahmaud Arbery because they didn’t think a Black man belonged in the neighborhood. This date resonates […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Criminal justice goal should be eliminating ‘systemic racialization’
BOSTON IS APPROACHING an unusual opportunity to create a bold program of police reform: the leaders of police and prosecution will be coming into their new positions at about the […]
Posted inArts and Culture
Asian-American/Pacific Islander arts face unique challenges post-COVID
TWO YEARS AGO, Wah Lum Kung Fu & Tai Chi Academy had 200 students learning martial arts in Malden and Quincy. Its performance team was hired to perform lion and […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Governor’s Council commutes sentences of two men convicted of murder
THE GOVERNOR’S COUNCIL on Wednesday voted unanimously to commute the sentences of two men convicted of first-degree murder, Thomas Koonce and William Allen, sealing the deal on the first commutations […]
Posted inEconomy, Race/Racism
Combating climate change could yield societal change
IT IS HARD to miss the urgent calls to do something about global warming. The Paris Agreement, Greta Thunberg, President Biden’s infrastructure legislation — the unusual climate patterns and the […]
Posted inOpinion
Gig economy is critical to closing the racial wealth gap
EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK today, you see independent workers. They’re delivering our packages, driving us across town, checking us out at the register. And more often than not, they’re people of […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
The crisis of missing Black women and girls in Massachusetts
“If Black women were free it, would mean everyone else would have to be free” – Combahee River Collective Statement I START WITH this line taken from the Combahee River […]
Posted inOpinion
Affinity groups are a way to retain teachers of color
I FELT A SENSE of community the moment I walked into my school as a new classroom teacher. Our guidance counselor met me at the door, smiling ear to ear. […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Parole commission investigating racism hits data roadblock
It’s déjà vu all over again. A recently released report regarding structural racism in the parole process ran into the same barrier that has hindered myriad other attempts at analyzing […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Parole commission investigating racism hits data roadblock
It’s déjà vu all over again. A recently released report regarding structural racism in the parole process ran into the same barrier that has hindered myriad other attempts at analyzing […]
Posted inNews Analysis
We’re reporting Census data all wrong
This report was initially released by the Boston Foundation’s Boston Indicators project. CENSUS DATA on race and ethnicity are invaluable for understanding who we are as a region and how we’re changing […]
