Jim Stergios

We Must Work Together to End Racial Injustice

/0 Comments/in , , , /by Jim Stergios
Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on
LinkedIn
+

Pioneer’s mission is to advance a nation where every American has freedom and can prosper. The institute has focused deeply on expanding economic opportunity for all, and as a critical component of that, access to high-quality educational options. We also work to promote greater participation in our American democracy, beginning with what and how students learn about our nation. We have long advocated for the rigorous study of U.S. history, including America’s original sin of slavery and the ongoing journey to end racism.

Today’s Context

Three officers witnessed Officer Chauvin’s suffocation of George Floyd. For months, police and state officials did not prosecute the men who killed Ahmaud Arbery.  These events underscore that our country must do more to stare down the sometimes deadly racial inequities in policing.  The Institute recognizes that the vast majority of officers sworn to protect all Americans abhor such actions.  But these transgressions demonstrate the need for a re-evaluation of practices and, in some instances, the culture within some of our law enforcement agencies.

Our Past Response

Pioneer has been purposeful in advancing changes to address, in part, the scourge of racism and the lack of access to economic opportunity, especially in disadvantaged communities. We have shown unmatched determination to expand educational options that promote social mobility; these include charter public and vocational schools, the Metco and interdistrict choice programs, and access to private schools, all of which have demonstrated success at bridging achievement gaps for urban students.  We have convened policymakers, school and business leaders, and the general public through forums with high-profile Civil Rights activists and historians that raise awareness of the role of slavery and racism in American history — and the need for all students to study and understand the damage that has resulted.

In transportation, we have fought for meaningful changes to public transit to ensure all communities have access to reliable service, especially in our urban areas, and promoted the establishment of a magnet high school focused on training inner city youth for jobs in transportation.

We have long supported key reforms of the state’s criminal justice system where a disproportionate share of the state’s incarcerated population are people of color. Those reforms include: ending solitary confinement, showcasing solutions to reduce recidivism, programs to reintegrate offenders into the mainstream workforce, and ending the shameful practice of using prisons as de facto mental health facilities; and emulating a successful magnet school to ready inner city youth for a career in law enforcement.

And knowing that government frequently cloaks mistakes both small and systemic, we work to make government transparent and increasingly accountable through online tools to provide ready access to public data and numerous public information requests.

Our Coming Response

Recognizing that we can do more on the protection of civil liberties and criminal justice, Pioneer released yesterday, “Respect My Rights,” a new web-based hotline to which citizens can submit complaints and descriptions of civil liberties violations they have experienced.  The Institute will share the Respect My Rights platform with states across the nation and serve as a research hub for scholars and news organizations interested in the protection of our civil liberties.  The Institute will also promote changes to the legal doctrine of “qualified immunity,” which makes government officials unaccountable for illegal or unconstitutional acts.

In other policy areas related to discussions of equity, in the coming weeks look for a Pioneer campaign calling for the City of Boston to allow convenience clinics to open, which would expand the availability of COVID-19 testing for inner city residents, and for research and advocacy focused on enhancing the success of our hardest hit industries — restaurants, retail, leisure and hospitality — which employ so many urban residents.

We will never have true equality unless all communities are provided the opportunity for social and economic upward mobility.

We all must do more.  Now.

Jim Stergios

Receive Important Updates (ISSUES)

Related Content

PUBLIC FORUMS

OP-EDS & COMMENTARY

RESEARCH

PODCASTS:

WEB PORTAL:

Making a Difference Through METCO

Recent Posts

Umesh Bhuju Seeks a Fair Deal for Immigrants, Farmers & the Environment

This week on JobMakers, Host Denzil Mohammed talks with Umesh Bhuju, owner of Zumi’s Espresso in Ipswich, Massachusetts, about how a business model based on selling nothing but fair-trade products can thrive in a world driven by profit. He describes his early experiences in his homeland of Nepal, where he witnessed child labor, and how that has shaped his pursuit of the American dream.

Study Says Massachusetts Surtax Proposal Could Reduce Taxable Income in the State by Over $2 Billion

As voters now begin to weigh the potential impact of a ballot proposal to increase taxes on business owners, retirees and wealthier households, a new literature review by Pioneer Institute shows that many existing academic studies find that wealthy individuals are particularly sensitive to changes in tax policy. Other studies explicitly warn policymakers that behavioral responses to taxing the rich could erode the tax base and ultimately strain state budgets.

New York Times Best Seller Paul Reid on Winston Churchill, WWII, & the Cold War

This week on “The Learning Curve," Cara and guest co-host Kerry McDonald talk with Paul Reid, co-author, with William Manchester, of the New York Times best-selling biography of Winston Churchill, The Last Lion: Defender of the Realm, 1940-1965. Reid shares how he was enlisted to complete William Manchester’s biographical trilogy on the greatest political figure of the 20th century, which became a best-seller.

Unintended Tax Consequences: Modeling the Effects of the Millionaire’s Tax on Massachusetts’ Economic Future

0 Comments
/
Hubwonk host Joe Selvaggi talks with Beacon Hill Institute President Dr. David Tuerck about his recent analysis of the proposed 4% surtax on incomes over $1 million in Massachusetts, and his estimate of the number of individuals who will leave the state as a result. Tuerck, an economist, used STAMP modeling tools comparing the static projections offered by proponents of the so-called "Fair Share Amendment" with a model simulation that accounts for the unintended effects of the tax.

The People’s House The U.S. House Representatives – 40 Resources for High School Students

American schoolchildren need to know more about the basic civics and history of our key democratic institutions. To remedy this, we’re offering a variety of resources to help parents, teachers, and high schoolers:

Dr. Babak Movassaghi on Winning in Football & Healthcare Innovation

0 Comments
/
This week on JobMakers, Host Denzil Mohammed talks with Dr. Babak Movassaghi, founder of InfiniteMD (acquired last summer by ConsumerMedical), which connects patients with top U.S. medical professionals through second-opinion video consultations, guiding patients to better care. When the world shut down due to COVID-19, Dr. Movassaghi's company was already prepared to serve patients via telehealth. In this episode, they discuss his fascinating pivot from physics and professional football in Germany, to healthcare and innovation here in the U.S., an extension of his ability to navigate multiple identities as an Iranian-German living the American Dream.

Nina Rees on the 30th Anniversary of Charter Public Schools in America

This week on “The Learning Curve," Gerard and Cara celebrate the 30th anniversary of charter schools with Nina Rees, President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.

This Is No Time for a Tax Increase

This is no time to threaten Massachusetts’ prospects for an immediate economic recovery and the long-term competitiveness of the Commonwealth’s businesses. As Massachusetts lawmakers prepare to vote on whether to send a proposed constitutional amendment that would impose a 4 percent surtax on residents who earn $1 million or more in a year to the statewide ballot in 2022, Pioneer Institute urges them to recognize that tax policy sizably impacts business and job location decisions and that jobs are more mobile than ever.

The Spirit Enlightened Celebrating Classical Music – 50 Resources for High School Students

In Pioneer’s ongoing series of blogs on curricular resources for parents, families, and teachers during COVID-19, this one focuses on: Celebrating Classical Music.

Valuing Life-Saving Drugs: What is the Price of Life and Who Decides?

Hubwonk host Joe Selvaggi talks with Pioneer Institute visiting fellow Dr. Bill Smith about Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALY) standards, and the ways in which so-called objective cost-containing strategies use expert opinion to determine the value of a life and thereby disadvantage the elderly, disabled, and those with less common vulnerabilities to disease.

Jitka Borowick on Starting a Small Business during COVID

0 Comments
/
This week on JobMakers, Guest Host Jo Napolitano talks with Jitka Borowick, Founder & CEO of Cleangreen, a cleaning service committed to environmentally-friendly practices, and Nove Yoga, launched during COVID. Jitka grew up under communism in the Czech Republic. Determined to learn English, she made her way to the U.S., initially with plans to stay for only one year - but ended up making it her home. Jitka shares the difficulties of learning another language and culture, her pathway to entrepreneurship, her courageous decision to open a new business during a pandemic, and how her companies have successfully adapted to the challenges so many small businesses have encountered over the past year.

Study: Massachusetts Should Retain Additional Healthcare System Flexibility Granted During Pandemic

Massachusetts’ emergency declaration for COVID-19 ends on June 15, and with it some enhanced flexibility that has been allowed in the healthcare system.  Some of the added flexibility highlighted barriers that make the system more expensive, harder to access and less patient-centered, and the Commonwealth should consider permanently removing these barriers, according to a new study published by Pioneer Institute.

Blended Learning Expert Heather Staker on Student-Centered Lessons During COVID-19

This week on “The Learning Curve," Gerard and Cara talk with Heather Staker, founder and president of Ready to Blend. They discuss her work with the late Harvard Professor Clayton Christensen and Michael Horn on disruptive innovation and schooling, as well as her book, Blended: Using Disruptive Innovation to Improve Schools, and her recent publication, Developing a student-centered workforce through micro-credentials. 

“Ballast for the Ship of State” – The U.S. Senate – 40 Resources for High School Students

The U.S. Senate’s vital, though sometimes dormant, authority in the face of the Imperial Presidency means few Americans and schoolchildren truly understand its constitutional role and inner workings. To remedy this, we’re offering a variety of resources to help parents, teachers, and high schoolers.

Shepherding Infrastructure Spending: Project Labor Agreements’ Effects on Community Public Construction Projects

This week on Hubwonk, host Joe Selvaggi talks with Suffolk University Economics Prof. Jonathan Haughton about his research into the effects and costs attending the adoption of Project Labor Agreements in large construction projects. The discussion focuses on Prof. Haughton’s two research pieces, The Effects of Project Labor Agreements in Massachusetts, and Do Project Labor Agreements Raise Construction Costs?, and the implications of PLAs on future projects in Massachusetts.
Are Massachusetts taxes regressive? Massachusetts State with Money Background

Study Finds Deep Flaws in Advocates’ Claims that the Massachusetts Tax Code is Regressive

Proponents of a state constitutional amendment to add a 4 percent surtax on all households with annual income above $1 million frequently cite 2015 data from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, which argues that the Massachusetts tax code is regressive, but a new study published by Pioneer Institute debunks many of the underlying assumptions used in ITEP’s 2015 report.

Josh Feast Answers the Call with AI

This week on JobMakers, Guest Host Jo Napolitano talks with Josh Feast, the CEO and Co-Founder of Cogito, a Boston-based software company that deploys Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help employers in a wide variety of industries improve their customer service call centers. They discuss the many applications of Artificial Intelligence, how it helps provide emotional intelligence to augment management practices at large organizations, and how to address some of the concerns about privacy and bias that have been raised around its use.

BU’s Dr. Farouk El-Baz on NASA’s Moon Landing, Remote Sensing, & STEM

This week on “The Learning Curve," Gerard and Cara talk with Dr. Farouk El-Baz, retired research professor and director of the Center for Remote Sensing at Boston University. They discuss his remarkable, varied, and pioneering career in the sciences, surveying both the heavens and the Earth, and key teachers and scientists who have influenced him. Dr. El-Baz shares what it was like serving as supervisor of Lunar Science Planning for NASA's Apollo program, and working on the world-changing project of putting a human on the Moon.