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 […]
Race/Racism
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 […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
SJC splits 4-3 on racial implications of traffic stop
A CAR FULL OF MEN are stopped by the police for a traffic violation. One passenger jumps out and acts aggressively. After restraining him, the police search the other occupants […]
Posted inRace/Racism
Charlestown High School remake proposal draws fire
A GROUP OF Boston Public Schools parents who say the district is falling short when it comes to educating special needs students want to see Charlestown High School remade into […]
Posted inOpinion
An eyewitness view of school segregation — in Needham
FOR 60 SECONDS in the early evening, the best view in Greater Boston transportation is aboard an outbound MBTA commuter rail train as it passes Millennium Park in West Roxbury, […]
Posted inPolitics
After breaking barrier, Holyoke’s first Latino mayor ready to focus on the basics
One in a series on newly-elected mayors in the Commonwealth. WHEN JOSHUA GARCIA takes office on Monday, he will make history as Holyoke’s first Latino mayor. But he is less […]
Posted inPolitics
Voting choices not a simple matter
I HAVE BEEN thinking about who votes for whom and why for a long time. I have been through plenty of campaigns and have sliced and diced numbers for decades. […]
Posted inPolitics
House, Senate redistricting plan would increase minority voting clout
LEGISLATIVE LEADERS on Tuesday released proposed new maps for Massachusetts House and Senate districts, which would enhance the political clout of minority voters while also protecting almost all incumbents. […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Juvenile delinquency dropped during pandemic
THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC’S disproportionate impact by race has been well-documented in areas including health outcomes, remote work, and education. Now, add one more disparity: juvenile justice. A report released Wednesday […]
Posted inPolitics
What went wrong for Framingham’s 1st mayor?
FOUR YEARS AGO, voters swept Yvonne Spicer into office as Framingham’s first mayor, heralding a new chapter for the community of 72,000, which had outgrown the town government structure that […]
Posted inEducation
What’s so dangerous about critical thinking?
Freedom is the continuous action we all must take, and each generation must do its part to create an even more fair, more just society. – John Lewis ONE CANNOT […]
Posted inEducation
No place for hate
IN JANUARY, a few Northampton middle school students, perhaps emboldened, maybe bored, after nearly a year of remote learning, projected images of the Confederate flag as their computer screen backdrop […]
Posted inRace/Racism
Rooney’s summer hiatus made permanent
BACK IN JUNE, Emily Rooney announced that Beat the Press on GBH was going on hiatus for the summer – “a first for us but a welcome break,” she said. […]
Posted inHealth Care
Meet the state’s only Black home birth midwife
A BLACK WOMAN is nearly twice as likely as a White woman in Massachusetts to die during pregnancy or after childbirth, according to a 2014 report by the Department of Public […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
A call for mayoral candidates to address gun violence
A PROMINENT BLACK MINISTER who was part of the clergy-police partnership in the 1990s that helped stem gun violence in Boston is calling on the five mayoral candidates to offer […]
Posted inPolitics, Race/Racism
Janey invokes slavery, birtherism in rejecting vax mandates
RULES RELATED TO the ever-changing pandemic, where the light at the end of the tunnel seemed to quickly shift to a picture of dark days ahead, can be hard to […]
Posted inEnvironment, Race/Racism
Proposed biomass limits restrict new plants in 90 percent of state
MONTHS AFTER THE Baker administration pulled the plug on plans for a controversial new biomass plant in Springfield, state environmental officials proposed new regulations that would drastically limit where biomass […]
Posted inEconomy
The quiet fortitude of Bob Moses
POLITICIANS OF VARIOUS STRIPES have for years declared education to be the civil rights issues of our time. Bob Moses, perhaps uniquely, could make the case with the authenticity of […]
Posted inOpinion
Why Boston should pursue reparations
ON JUNE 9, 2021 Boston City Councilors Julia Mejia and Kenzie Bok submitted an order calling for “a hearing on reparations and their impact on the civil rights of Black […]
Posted inEducation
Community colleges see steep drop in Black, Latinx enrollment
AT ROXBURY COMMUNITY COLLEGE – where attendees are predominantly low-income students of color – enrollment was down by 20 to 25 percent last year. The college’s president, Valerie Roberson, wasn’t […]
Posted inRace/Racism
Why child abuse commission got stuck
IN A VERY rare occurrence in state government, a special commission appointed by the Legislature spent 16 months investigating how child abuse should be reported and couldn’t come to agreement […]
Posted inNews Analysis
Poll shows strong support for requiring vaccines for teachers, first responders, and other groups
NEWS THAT THE state’s biggest health care provider systems will be requiring COVID vaccinations of their employees will likely renew debate about whether other organizations or types of businesses should […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Opinion, Race/Racism
Closing a hate-crime loophole
IMAGINE WAKING UP in the morning and seeing an image of hate painted on the front door of the apartment you’ve rented for years. This image is meant to target […]
