The right to vote is the precious centerpiece of American citizenship and democracy.
Kevin Peterson
Posted inRace/Racism
Ogletree was a peerless champion for justice
THE SUNDAY MORNING drive to Dorchester from the iHeart Radio studios just north of Boston was uneventful except for the presence of political royalty in the car. I sat slightly slumped in the back of the black SUV. The Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. sat in the front of the vehicle, riding shotgun. As we headed […]
Posted inPolitics
King was idealist with an eye for political pragmatism
MEL KING’S name surfaced in Marty Walsh’s kitchen very early on a sunny Wednesday morning, a day after a bruising preliminary election squabble for mayor of Boston. Walsh was one of two victors the night before, having vanquished, among others, Charlotte Golar Richie, who some in Boston’s Black community were hoping would become the city’s […]
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 art, as understood both in the academy and among regular folks, is art that evokes both historical memory and challenges us in ordering our future […]
Posted inOpinion
Warren should now champion race dialogue at home, too
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN is running for president with an ever-percolating pot of policy ideas. She has advanced a cornucopia of legislative proposals in recent weeks, earning her the mark of a wonk in a recent Time magazine profile. While reaching the White House may preoccupy her ambitions these days, looking to Massachusetts as a potential incubator for her […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Opinion
Rollins brings welcome change
SUFFOLK COUNTY District Attorney’s Rachael Rollins’s bold stances around criminal justice in Massachusetts are good for democracy. Her proposals to effectively limit the criminal stigma of some illegal offenses — such as shoplifting and trespassing — that disproportionately impact people of color and the poor have ruffled political feathers. But her approach is well-grounded and […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
New civics law should spur study of race and urban violence
THE STRENGTHENED MASSACHUSETTS civics standards for schools that was signed into law last month may well contain an unexpected benefit that will bolster the core of the state’s democracy: It can serve as a conduit to grapple with the persistent issues of race and violence— especially in the Commonwealth’s urban centers. The law was needed. Along […]
Posted inOpinion
Why we boycott Faneuil Hall
The following remarks are a slightly edited version of a speech delivered on Thursday at a protest at Faneuil Hall. THE ROOTS OF BOSTON — our history, our legacy, our genesis — have been watered with the blood of the slaughtered. From first nation people to the bound African slave, Boston at the outset represented […]
Posted inOpinion
Renaming Faneuil Hall would not erase history
IN A LOCAL TV news station poll this month, more than 90 percent of viewers opposed renaming Faneuil Hall, an iconic civic edifice in Boston which has been a magnet for tourist and elementary school day-trippers. Yet, all across the nation, large cities and small municipalities are taking sure-footed measures toward removing or renaming monuments, […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Abysmal voter turnout a sad statement
A VANISHINGLY SMALL number of voters will be visiting the polls for today’s Massachusetts state primary. And you know what? It’s our fault. In our dreams, election days are supposed to depict an overflow of patriotism and sweet electoral engagement, where voters swarm the polls to practice their civic duty. In our election day fantasies […]