Friday, June 20, 2014
Boston Idea Week- The Boston Brand Event Summary
As part of the
Innovation Districts’ Boston Idea Week, an interactive discussion was held on
Wednesday, June 18th at the Courthouse Station about how the Boston Brand has
been affected by the busing crisis of the 1970’s and the city’s history of
racism. Boston City Councilor Ayanna Pressley, a former MWPC Board Member and endorsed candidate, kicked off the event with a brief speech on the various ways she is
trying to make Boston more welcoming to communities of color through
legislation. She said that in order to really make progress on this issue
people have to come together and “be willing to have an uncomfortable
conversation” and be honest about the history of race in Boston. The discussion
that followed, moderated by the Boston Globe’s Meghan Irons who posed questions to
The Boston Busing/Desegregation Project’s Donna Bivens and President of the
Boston NAACP Michael Curry, repeatedly returned to the question of how to start
that conversation. There seems to be a universal acceptance that approaching
the controversial topic of race with frankness, openness and honesty is key
towards creating equal access to education and reducing the impact of racism.
However, the key to starting those conversations amongst great division remains
up in the air.
