THE BOOKENDS TO Marty Walsh’s seven-year run as mayor are all you need to look at to understand how the issue of race has gone from long-simmering, but often back burner, issue to a central subject of the day in Boston.
As part of a sprawling 12-candidate field for the open mayor’s seat in 2013, Walsh chased votes across the city, including with a series of town hall forums dubbed “Mondays with Marty.” The events let him to make his pitch to — and answer questions from — residents who were not always well acquainted with the then-Dorchester state representative.
One hot Monday in July found Walsh holding forth at Spontaneous Celebrations, a community arts center in Jamaica Plain that offered classes in things like “toddler drumming” and which seemed a long way from the Laborers Union hall where he got his start in politics.
In the Q&A phase, a middle-aged black woman — one of the only people of color at the event chock-full of white JP lefties — posed a seemingly straightforward question: How would Walsh address racism in Boston?
It seemed to come like a wild idea out of nowhere to Walsh, and he was momentarily thrown by it. He said no one had raised the issue during the three and half months he had been on the campaign trail. He went on to say that racism would have no party in a Walsh administration and spoke about the tremendous diversity of his Dorchester House district.
Fast forward to Tuesday night and Walsh’s annual State of the City address, and it felt like it was a different city being talked about — by a leader who is now in a very different place when it comes to issues of race and racism.
With Walsh preparing to leave office to serve as secretary of labor in the Biden administration, the specter of the pandemic that has caused so much death and dislocation loomed heavy over last night’s speech, beginning with its delivery with no live audience from a newly built branch library in Roxbury. But along with considerable attention to the COVID crisis — and all the predictable lines about the city’s resiliency and “Boston strong” — confronting racism was the subject Walsh dug deepest on.
He called it “our deepest moral obligation” and the city’s “greatest opportunity for growth.”
In what is likely to be his last major speech as mayor, Walsh applauded those who demonstrated last year following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, and pointed to ways Boston has sought to address racism.
“The gravity of this moment weighed on me,” said Walsh. “I’m proud of the work we’ve done in Boston. But doing better than before isn’t enough. We need to address all the ways systemic racism hurts people in our city.”
He spoke about the issue through the lens that gets closest to his core — as someone who has spent more than two decades in recovery from alcoholism.
“In the end, I went back to what I learned in recovery,” Walsh said. “I listened to those who have been there tell their stories and speak their truth. Young black members of my team shared their thoughts first. I held Zoom calls with our Black Employee Network, to listen. I reached out to leaders, activists, and clergy. They spoke about daily fears that something will happen to a loved one. They described lifelong anxiety around being pre-judged and denied opportunities. I heard grief, not just over lives lost — but over children’s futures limited. I will never forget those conversations.”
Using his own lived experience to try to grasp some of the anguish and anger of black Bostonians, Walsh seemed to channel a version of Rep. Ayanna Pressley’s often stated refrain that those closest to the pain should be closest to the power in crafting policies to address those problems.
Walsh said his administration declared racism “a public health crisis;” he talked about steering more funding toward youth, trauma, and mental health programs; and lauded “historic police reforms” that were led by “black and brown Bostonians.”
Of course, there are criticisms over the specifics of steps Walsh has or hasn’t taken. But by any measure there has been a sea change since that July 2013 forum in his recognition of the role of racism in Boston, just as other leading voices and major institutions in the city are stepping forward in ways not seen before.
There is now strong belief that the city may be poised to elect its first non-white mayor. Race and racism are certain to figure prominently in the campaign now unfolding. Walsh, as part of the legacy he will leave, has certainly helped set the stage for that.
MICHAEL JONAS
FROM COMMONWEALTH
A new poll finds a racial tilt on government priorities, with blacks and Latinos favoring more government intervention in society than whites.
Attorney General Maura Healey is sitting on a mountain of campaign cash that is larger than the combined war chests of Gov. Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito.
At the State House, Baker signs a lot more legislation into law, including bills dealing with craft brewing, campus sexual assault, and sewage discharge notifications. Meanwhile, the future price of food delivery fees is riding on whether Baker goes along with a provision in the economic development bill sitting on his desk. Rep. Chynah Tyler of Roxbury is named the new chair of the Black and Latino Legislative Caucus.
Baker says he’s glad he fought to retain the use of facial recognition technology, which can be used to track participants in the violence at the US Capitol. The technology, which is reportedly prone to inaccuracy, particularly among people of color, was nearly banned by the police reform bill.
Opinion: The threat to democracy is not over, says Reyes Coll-Tellechea of UMass Boston.
FROM AROUND THE WEB
BEACON HILL
A Globe editorial implores Gov. Charlie Baker to sign the climate change legislation that sits on his desk. CommonWealth reported yesterday on concerns among the bill’s supporters that he could veto the measure. Several leading business groups are now calling on the governor not to sign the bill. (Boston Globe) WBUR explains why the climate change bill won’t be the death knell for a proposed wood-burning power plant in Springfield.
Baker signs legislation dissolving the Hampshire Council of Governments and transferring $5.1 million in pension liabilities to the state. (Daily Hampshire Gazette)
MUNICIPAL MATTERS
New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell tests positive for COVID-19. (Standard-Times)
A restaurant owner in Eastham decries public backlash for his being at the Trump rally that later led to the storming of the US Capitol. (Cape Cod Times)
HEALTH/HEALTH CARE
Massachusetts plans to open its first COVID-19 mass vaccination site, for first responders, at Gillette Stadium. (Associated Press) First responders throughout the state have already started getting the first dose of the shot. (Eagle-Tribune) Gov. Charlie Baker visits a first responder vaccine site at the Worcester Senior Center. (Telegram & Gazette) There’s a lot of uncertainty over who will get a vaccine when, including the high-risk population of those over 75. (Boston Globe)
A research report says 20 percent of Boston residents say they won’t get a COVID-19 vaccine, a figure that rises to close to 50 percent among black residents, underscoring the wariness of African Americans toward the medical community. (Boston Globe)
The state bars Elaine Center nursing home in Hadley from accepting new admissions after 92 people there contract COVID-19. (MassLive)
WASHINGTON/NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL
The House is poised to make Donald Trump the only president impeached twice in US history, with several Republicans, including the party’s No. 3 leader in the House, Rep. Liz Cheney, saying they will vote in favor of the incitement of insurrection charge. (Washington Post) Rep. Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey says she will vote for impeachment and also wants to take action against colleagues who aided the insurrectionists, including taking them on reconnaissance tours of the Capitol the day before violence broke out. (North Jersey Media Group)
After four years of dutifully hitching his wagon to Trump and his erratic ways, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell has privately voiced support for efforts to impeach him for a second time, reasoning that it is the best way to purge the Republican Party of Trump and move forward. (New York Times)
Trump loses Boston Herald columnist Peter Lucas, who says he’ll now be known largely for his surprise election win and the shameful end to his one term in office.
The US Supreme Court overturns the decisions of several lower courts, granting a Trump administration request that patients seeking a drug that terminates pregnancies show up in person at pharmacies or doctor’s offices to pick it up. The ACLU had challenged the in-person pickup during the coronavirus pandemic. (NPR)
ELECTIONS
Boston City Council president Kim Janey, who is poised to become acting mayor, has hired a political consulting firm and says she’ll give “serious consideration” to running for the post this fall. (Boston Herald)
Boston Herald columnist Joe Battenfeld says Police Commissioner William Gross would face a lot of hurdles in a run for mayor of Boston. (Boston Herald) CommonWealth reported earlier in the week on the hurdles — and opportunities — he would face.
BUSINESS/ECONOMY
The state is trying to recoup $190 million in “overpayments” made to 78,000 workers who received unemployment benefits during the pandemic. (The Salem News)
Starting in 2022, Northampton will bar restaurants from providing prepared food in non-recyclable disposable containers. (Daily Hampshire Gazette)
EDUCATION
UMass is expected to release its investigative report into the conduct of Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse today, and sources told MassLive that the report will be critical of Morse for using dating apps to approach students.
Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government announced Wednesday it’s cutting ties with Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik of New York after she made public assertions about voter fraud during the 2020 presidential election without factual evidence. (GBH)
Early childhood education providers are frustrated that they are excluded from a pooled testing program for K-12 schools. (Telegram & Gazette) State officials are working to develop a pilot program to test early educators. (State House News Service)
The pandemic is having a huge impact on college applications — no standardized test scores, no extracurriculars, no sports, etc. (Associated Press)
Fall River Superintendent Matthew Malone has been penalized with unspecified changes to his contract in connection with allegations of inappropriate behavior towards school staff. (Herald News)
ARTS/CULTURE
Rapper Joyner Lucas receives a symbolic Key to the City before a crowd of fans in Worcester. (Telegram & Gazette)
CRIMINAL JUSTICE/COURTS
The US carries out its first execution of a female inmate since 1953. (Associated Press)
A Worcester police officer is returning to duty a year after he was arrested for driving drunk while off duty. (MassLive)
An East Bridgewater firefighter was arrested at his Rockland home Tuesday after State Police said he got into a drunken crash and took off. (Patriot Ledger/The Enterprise)
MEDIA
The Tiny News Collective wants to give people in local news deserts the tools they need to start their own news-gathering operations. (Nieman Journalism Lab)