Those of us who live in Massachusetts can get a bit self-satisfied, okay, smug, about our state’s superior progress and positions on important issues. Take, for example, the right to choose. The undoing of Roe v Wade will not overturn the legality of abortion in Massachusetts. Here, the right to choose to continue or terminate a pregnancy is assured. And then look at guns. Massachusetts outlawed the sale of AR-15-style guns and, in 2021, a bill was filed to prevent the manufacturing of such weapons in Massachusetts, thereby encouraging Smith and Wesson, the country’s second largest gun manufacturer, to relocate its headquarters in Tennessee.
Read MoreWatching the January 6 hearings is must-see television, as frightening and disturbing as the images and testimony are. Nothing conveys the gravity and scope of what transpired more than viewing these hearings, where all the information is presented together, with new evidence and first-person narrative to put it all in perspective.
Read More“What is Gender? Why Does It Matter?” Alex Myers, author, educator, and transgender activist tackled this subject as he shared his personal story and welcomed questions and comments during the Community Conversation at The Cabot last week. His presentation was so riveting that we decided to share some of the takeaways for those of you who couldn’t make it – and as reminders for those of you who were there.
Read MoreHot enough for you?
Get ready for more scorchers!
A new report by the Greater Boston Research Advisory Group (GBRAG) at UMass Boston, released last Wednesday, provides disturbing details about what we can expect in the not-too-distant future. The report, as described by WBUR, considers 101 towns and…
Read MoreDiscrimination. Harassment. Bullying. Ostracism.
These are some of the experiences our LGBTQ children frequently endure.Discrimination. Harassment. Bullying. Ostracism.
These are some of the experiences our LGBTQ children frequently endure.
Read MoreThis week’s attack in Uvalde, Texas was the 199th mass shooting of 2022. That averages 10 such attacks a week, according to Gun Violence Archive, an independent data organization. The Archive defines a mass shooting as an incident in which four or more people are shot or killed, excluding the shooter. In Uvalde, 19 children and two adults were killed, the deadliest incident so far this year. It should be noted that other groups, such as …
Read MoreHow are you planning to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month? If you are a white American, you probably have not given it much thought. Yet, just as Black History Month has raised the consciousness and understanding of those who are not part of the African American community, so does AAPI Month offer an opportunity to grow in appreciation and respect for the multiculturalism that defines our country.
Read MoreTwo memories came to mind immediately when the leaked Supreme Court decision about Roe v. Wade hit the news. One was of a story a friend told of an abortion she had in college in the late 1960s in Boston. She was picked up in a car, blindfolded, and taken to a basement where she could hear rats scurrying about. When the procedure was over, she was returned to her dormitory. She was frightened beyond words and thought she might die, either in that dank, cold basement or from some infection afterwards. Nonetheless, she felt this was her best option. She and her boyfriend were not yet ready to marry – they would a year or so later – and they had plans to enter the Peace Corps for two years once they did.
Read MorePresident Biden, as part of his effort to reach zero emissions economy-wide by 2050, has set a goal of 50% electric vehicle (EVs) sales by 2030. To reach this level of EVs will be a giant leap from last year, when electric vehicles represented only 3% of US new auto sales, but we already see the trend moving upward.
Read MoreIt’s only the middle of spring, but not too early to be concerned about the midterm elections in November. We’ve written before about the importance of voting in our local elections for mayors and city council members, as well as school board members and state legislators, because those elected officials determine significant policies that affect our families and our everyday lives.
Read MoreKetanji Brown Jackson was confirmed last week as an Associate Justice on the US Supreme Court. She will be the first African American woman to serve on the Supreme Court, and her confirmation in the Senate was presided over by the first African American – male or female – vice president of the United States.
Read MoreThe working definition of “literacy” is the ability to read and write. We decided to do a short experiment. Just for an hour or two, we imagined that we couldn’t read. Initially, we were not prepared for how reading is a part of almost every minute of our lives. What would be the big deal, we thought, to not read for a couple of hours?
Read MoreSince the inception of Leading Ladies, humane immigration policies have been among our priorities. Because of a zero tolerance policy during the last presidential administration, thousands of children were separated from their parents at our southern border. Hundreds have since been reunited, but far from all.
Read MoreWith the horrifying war in Ukraine rightfully riveting our attention, a bipartisan action last week remained relatively under the radar. On March 15, President Biden signed into law the 2022 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act after approval by both houses of Congress...
Read MoreWho can forget the popular advertising slogan, “You’ve come a long way, baby?” The phrase was the 1968 genius creation of a man, advertising whiz Pat Martin, who was tasked with marketing the first cigarette developed exclusively for women. The ads featured tall models in pants suits seemingly emboldened by the new Virginia Slims…
Read MoreDr. Jeffrey Lieberman was suspended two weeks ago as chair of the department of psychiatry at Columbia University, asked to resign as the executive director of the New York State Psychiatric Institute, and fired as psychiatrist-in-chief at Columbia University Irving Medical Center/NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.
Read MoreA recent trip to Berlin included a historical tour of the city. Since Germany has an impressive and extensive record of reckoning with its past, the tour not surprisingly covered the underground memorial to the 1933 book burning in Bebelplatz, a beautiful and notable center of cultural activity. On May 10, 1933, members of the Nazi German Student Union organized burnings throughout the country of important works of world literature they deemed dangerous. Works by Thomas Mann, Erich Kästner, Stefan Zweig, Heinrich Heine, Karl Marx, Albert Einstein, and Kurt Tucholsky were among those destroyed in Berlin. Many of the authors were Jewish, and for that reason alone, their books were considered unworthy. In fact, Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda Joseph Goebbels pronounced that day in Bebelplatz that “the era of extreme Jewish intellectualism is now at an end.”
Read MorePresident Biden’s administration last week expressed again its commitment to fighting the environmental hazards that disproportionately affect Blacks, Latinos, and other people of color in this country. However, the president and his team are reframing the problem as one that affects poor communities, rather than people of color. In other words, race is being taken out of the conversation.
Read MoreFebruary is Black History Month. Its roots are in Negro History Week, first sponsored in 1926 by the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH), an organization founded by Harvard-trained historian Carter G. Woodson and the prominent minister Jesse E. Moorland to research and promote achievements by Black Americans and other people of African descent.
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