News and Analysis
Read the latest news, commentary, and analysis from the Ash Center.
Newest
Will Redistricting Reforms Stave off Partisan Gerrymandering?
Assistant Professor of Public Policy Benjamin Schneer sat down with the Ash Center to discuss the once-in-a-decade reapportionment process now underway, the potential for partisan gerrymandering and its impact on politics nationwide.
Video
Overcoming Racism to Build a True Democracy: Two Authors Share the Way Forward
Confronting racism directly and building a fully inclusive democracy are completely intertwined. Two authors with strong history in the democracy movement have recently written forcefully and personally on the subject. Heather McGhee served as President of Demos before writing the New York Times bestseller The Sum of Us, and Theodore Johnson, after serving twenty years in the military, is the Director of the Fellows Program at the Brennan Center for Justice and the author of the just-published When the Stars Begin to Fall. Harvard Law Professor Guy Uriel-Charles engaged with them on their experiences, their arguments, and how they see the way forward.
Video
Getting Past Partisanship and Polarization: Community Civic Infrastructure
In this panel discussion, community organizers, leaders, and democracy advocates explored examples from communities all over the country where this is working today. Then, they discussed the challenge of replicating and expanding community civic infrastructure initiatives across the country.
Feature
Story of Igiugig
Patrick Lynch MC/MPA 2019 partnered with Indigenous filmmakers to tell the story of native sovereignty in Alaska.
Q+A
Massachusetts Uniquely Positioned to Adopt Universal Voting Argues Miles Rapoport
Requiring citizens to vote, or actively abstain, would increase voter participation and make democracy more representative in the Bay State says Ash Center Senior Practice Fellow in American Democracy.
Video
Honoring Nations 2021 Awards Presentations
Six exceptional tribal programs were selected by the Harvard Project’s Honoring Nations Program as finalists for the prestigious 2021 awards in American Indian governance. At the heart of Honoring Nations is the principle that tribes themselves hold the key to generating social, political, cultural, and economic prosperity and that self-governance plays a crucial role in building and sustaining strong, healthy Indian nations.
2021’s outstanding finalists were:
- Agua Caliente People Curriculum
Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians - Cherokee Nation ONE FIRE
Cherokee Nation - Energy Lifeline Sector Resilience: Low-carbon Microgrids
Blue Lake Rancheria - Pe Sla
The Great Sioux Nation - Sitka Tribe of Alaska Environmental Lab
Sitka Tribe of Alaska - Swinomish Tax Authority
Swinomish Indian Tribal Community
Media Release
National Search Yields Six Innovative Native Programs For Harvard’s 2021 Honoring Nations Awards in Governance
Commentary
Honoring and Fostering Innovation in Indian Country
Through its latest round of awardees in the Honoring Nations program, the Harvard Project highlights how Indigenous people are tackling the challenges of (re)building healthy, vibrant nations.
Video
Transforming Boston: A Black and Brown Justice Agenda for the New Mayor
The Ash Center, Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, Center for Public Leadership, FXB Center for Health and Human Rights, and the Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston hosted a conversation on the urgent issues – from education and housing to economic development and communal violence – that the next mayor of Boston must address to rectify structural inequities and support Black and Brown communities.