Happy New Year from the Mayor’s Office of Resilience and Racial Equity!

As we enter 2017, we're excited to share some of the incredible ongoing work that our partners are doing as they build resilience across the City.

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We also want to thank you for all your hard work and commitment over the past year. We are excited to bring this momentum into 2017 and to continue working together to make Boston a more resilient and equitable city.

Last updated: December 13, 2016

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What's coming from us

Recap of Boston Talks About Racism and subsequent feedback

Thanks to everyone who made it out to the Cutler Majestic Theatre on November 19tfor our Boston Talks About Racism event! We greatly appreciate everyone’s attendance and enthusiasm. We especially appreciate all the feedback we received from folks on what they enjoyed and what we could do to improve these discussions in the future! Keep an eye out for an upcoming blog post summarizing the event and all of the feedback we received. If you couldn’t make it to the event, you can watch the whole conversation on our website or read Mayor Walsh’s recap. We also encourage you to read and share The Blueprint, a document articulating the framework for our forthcoming resilience strategy.

Glossary of terms

One piece of feedback we received after our November event was that it is important to establish consistent and shared definitions of terms that we frequently use. We have been working on a glossary and it will be available on our website soon — stay tuned.

MORRE Coffee and Conversation

We will be hosting a meet and greet with our office staff in Mid-February so that the Boston community can get to know us. We're hoping to give people a chance to meet us and speak with us about our work. Hearing from residents has been crucial for the development of our work, and we want to continue moving this relationship forward! Keep an eye out for more details.

Design Labs

As we enter the final stages of our strategy writing process, we invite residents to attend Design Labs on January 25 and 28. You'll get a preview of our initiatives and provide any final feedback. More details to come soon.

Events and resources from our partners

Everyday Boston invites you to their very first community event. It's a night of food, music, and storytelling with neighbors from across Boston. Now more than ever, it's the mission of Everyday Boston to connect strangers and create community.

Stop by the East Boston Public Library on January 26 from 6:30 - 8 p.m. for the first of many events to come!

The Friends of Roslindale Branch Library have formed a Racial Justice and Inclusiveness Committee. The committee will plan educational events, discussions, and presentations related to race, ethnicity, religion and culture. On January 19, the committee will be hosting a book discussion of Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates. The Friends purchased a limited number of copies of this book which patrons can borrow on a first-come, first-served basis.

The discussion, which will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Roslindale Library, will be facilitated by Shay Stewart-Bouley of Community Change.

On January 19, the night before the inauguration of our country’s next president, Teen Empowerment will be hosting an event. The hope is to bring the community together through performances, conversation, and food. Breaking the Binds of the Mind will highlight Teen Empowerment’s recommendations for change. These include investing in youth jobs, improving community-police relationships, investing in education, and comprehensive criminal justice reform. We will also be recognizing four BPD officers for their outstanding commitment to the young people of Boston and their Teen Empowerment support.

Join us from 6 - 8:30 p.m. at the Higginson Lewis K-8 School, 131 Walnut Avenue, on January 19. For more information, contact Jose at Jose@teenempowerment.org.

The Vital Healing Project strives to provide a safe space for an interactive and collegial learning of mental health conditions and symptoms. The goal is to destigmatize mental health issues and connect under- and uninsured community residents with healthcare professionals. The project seeks to address cultural and racial biases in mental illness diagnosis, as well as shine light on “Racial Battle Fatigue.” With the help of their committed partners, the project will provide free preventive measures. These include yoga exercises, meditation, and self-care instructions. They will also give out information on free mental health resources within the Boston community.

The first of the project’s monthly community sessions will take place at Dudley Cafe on January 25 from 7 - 9 p.m. Visit their website for more information.

#IAM Day of Service: The first series of #IAM events will bring together a collective body of diverse sectors. These events aim to stand up against injustice and resist the ideas of bigotry that affect specific groups of students in and out of school. We'll aim to engage all participants in:

relationship building
cross-cultural communication,
sharing of resources
accessibility for English Learners and Students with Disabilities, and
creating a coalition to develop actionable steps to support all students.

The #IAM Day of Service event on MLK Day, January 16, will feature leaders and experts who will lead panels addressing:

the impact and response to trauma and harassment in and out of schools, and
the role of identity in the era of negative political discourse.

Follow-up sessions will feature collaborative efforts from leaders, educators, social workers, and other members of the community. Visit their website for more information. The #IAM Day of Service will be held at Boston Renaissance Charter School from 9:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. (registration begins at 9 a.m.) You can also RSVP for the event.

The Boston Tax Help Coalition will have a launch event with Mayor Martin J. Walsh and community partners at the Dorchester House. The event takes place at 1353 Dorchester Avenue on January 27 from 2 - 3 p.m.

Please join us to learn more about the tax services offered to Boston residents. For more information, visit the Boston Tax Help Coalition website.

The Trinity Boston Foundation is hosting a Racial Equity Learning Community event. The event, called "Profiles in Activism: Harnessing the Power of Collective Action in Your Organization," takes place on January 27 from 9 - 11:30 a.m. at Trinity Church in Copley Square.

The event will feature a panel of local activists and organizers. Participants will be able to meet with each panelist in small groups to learn more and think about how to become activists in their own organizations. Learn more about the Trinity Boston Foundation event.

The Opportunity Youth Collaborative is hosting a Connection Center Door Knocking Campaign. The even takes place on Wednesday, January 18, from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Participants will be going door-to-door in an underserved community to get the word out about Connection Center resources. Our good friends at Teen Empowerment (384 Warren Street) are partnering with us to make this happen. They will serve as home base for the campaign.

We will have a brief training for all volunteer in the morning. We will provide a light breakfast and lunch. RSVP for the Opportunity Youth Collaborative event.

The BPS Office of Opportunity and Achievement Gaps Speaker Series focuses on issues related to urban education. The series also discusses the sound instruction of students who have been historically marginalized. The goal of the series is to:

serve as a window through which we can engage Boston Public Schools’ diverse stakeholders
brand Boston as a school district dedicated to progressive change, and
begin a historic stride towards true equity and the elimination of opportunity and achievement gaps.

Two upcoming speakers include: Donaldo Macedo (January 17) and Dr. Claud Anderson (January 19). Both events are from 6 - 8 p.m. See each event page for the specific location.

Measuring Up: School Discipline Toolkit: The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Right and Economic Justice toolkit is for students, families, teachers, and community members who want to improve discipline in their schools under Massachusetts’ new law, Chapter 222. Families can use the toolkit to get the relevant facts and data, learn their rights, file a complaint, and more. Learn more about the toolkit.

Last updated: December 13, 2016

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