Massachusetts Black Lawmakers Roundtable Launched at Tufts University

Medford, MA - A group of 20 Black lawmakers, including U.S. Representative Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), convened at Tufts University on Monday, April 25, 2022 to launch the Massachusetts Black Lawmakers Roundtable (MBLR), an initiative of the Center for State Policy Analysis (cSPA) at the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life. The local, state, and federal lawmakers represent all regions of the Commonwealth, including Greater Boston, the Berkshires, Central and Metro West, Cape Cod, South Shore, and the North Shore.

Tufts President Anthony P. Monaco, who participated in the inaugural meeting, said, “It is a privilege to welcome this group of leaders to the Tufts campus. As we continue to work towards our goal of becoming a more just, equitable, anti-racist, and diverse university, we know that we cannot be successful without the partnership of our leaders in government. And so, as you collaborate on policies and initiatives, I hope you will consider Tufts a resource for your work, and I hope you will challenge us all to do better - for our communities and our world.”

Representative Pressley, the highest-ranking Black lawmaker in Massachusetts and first woman of color to represent the Commonwealth in Congress, provided a briefing on federal policy issues she is leading on that will advance racial, social, and economic justice.

“This convening is historic, urgent, and necessary, and I was honored to join my colleagues for this important discussion,” said Pressley. “We know that hurt and harm have been codified through generations of policy violence, so it is critical that we work daily to codify justice and healing - at all levels of government. We must hold space for each other, build our collective power, and learn from each other, and holding these regular convenings is critical to that.”

The Roundtable was convened by Samuel M. Gebru, a nonresident senior fellow at cSPA. cSPA will provide management for and policy expertise to MBLR, which will serve as a coalition of elected officials in Massachusetts at all levels of government who identify as Black. MBLR will be a platform for relationship and power building, policy innovation, programmatic collaboration, experience sharing, and thought leadership.

The inaugural meeting also featured a presentation on MassForward: Advancing Democratic Innovation and Electoral Reform in Massachusetts, a report co-authored by Peter Levine, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Lincoln Filene Professor of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Tisch College. The report examines structural barriers to civic life in Massachusetts and offers recommendations to improve elections and civic engagement as well as decision-making and diversity in government.

MBLR builds on the commitment of Tisch College to strengthen democracy and promote civic leadership locally, nationally, and globally. Dean Dayna L. Cunningham describes Tisch College’s vision as “building knowledge, training a generation of citizen-leaders, and co-creating research-based solutions, grounded in community, that advance multi-racial democracy and support the institutional transformations that will uphold and sustain it.”  

“There is enormous history, vision, and leadership within MBLR, and I look forward to the road ahead as the lawmakers continue to convene throughout the Commonwealth,” said Gebru. “As MBLR members determine their scope and policy issue areas, we will leverage the knowledge and resources at cSPA and the other centers, departments, and schools at Tufts to support their collaboration and policy innovation.”

The lawmakers in attendance at the MBLR inaugural meeting were: U.S. Representative Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Massachusetts State Representative Nika Elugardo (15th Suffolk), Great Barrington Selectboard Vice Chair Leigh Davis, Cambridge City Councilor E. Denise Simmons, Cambridge City Councillor Quinton Zondervan, Newton City Councilor Tarik Lucas, Brockton City Councilor Maria Tavares (Ward 2), Chelsea City Councilor Leo Robinson (At-Large), Salem City Councilor Leveille McClain (Ward 4), Worcester City Councilor Khrystian King (At-Large), Barnstable Town Councilor Jeffrey Mendes, Falmouth Select Board Member Onjalé Scott Price, Somerville School Committee Chair Andre Green, Amherst-Pelham Regional School Committee Chair Benjamin Herrington, Beverly School Committee Member Kenann McKenzie, Plymouth School Committee Member Vedna Lacombe-Heywood, Ayer-Shirley Regional School Committee Member Erica Spann, Acton-Boxborough Regional School Committee Member Evelyn Abayaah-Issah, Cambridge School Committee Member Ayesha Wilson, and Brockton School Committee Member Tony Rodrigues. Additional lawmakers, who were unable to attend the April meeting, will be participating in events and convenings moving forward.

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Pictured left to right: Chelsea City Councilor Leo Robinson (At-Large), U.S. Representative Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Amherst-Pelham Regional School Committee Chair Benjamin Herrington, Brockton City Councilor Maria Tavares (Ward 2), Plymouth School Committee Member Vedna Lacombe-Heywood, Brockton School Committee Member Tony Rodrigues, Ayer-Shirley Regional School Committee Member Erica Spann, Barnstable Town Councilor Jeffrey Mendes, Falmouth Select Board Member Onjalé Scott Price, Worcester City Councilor Khrystian King (At-Large), Acton-Boxborough Regional School Committee Member Evelyn Abayaah-Issah, Cambridge City Councillor Quinton Zondervan, Salem City Councilor Leveille McClain (Ward 4), Newton City Councilor Tarik Lucas, Great Barrington Selectboard Vice Chair Leigh Davis, Massachusetts State Representative Nika Elugardo (15th Suffolk), Beverly School Committee Member Kenann McKenzie, Cambridge School Committee Member Ayesha Wilson, Somerville School Committee Chair Andre Green, and Cambridge City Councillor E. Denise Simmons. Photo by Paul Rutherford.