Elevating the on-the-ground voices of those struggling for justice
In recent years, there’s been a global surge of protests against racialized violence and longstanding structural inequality in countries ranging from the U.S. and Chile to Haiti and Colombia. The increase in these mass demonstrations illustrates how policymakers and politicians remain disconnected from, or unbothered by, the needs of their constituents.
The What Justice Looks Like Seminar Series emphasizes a “public policy from below” approach by elevating the on-the-ground voices of those struggling for justice who have been traditionally excluded from the halls of power. This year-long seminar series highlights activists from communities directly affected by state violence and mass incarceration through trauma-informed conversations about (in)justice, power, resistance, and pathways to racial justice, equity, and meaningful change.
This series is hosted by Assistant Professor Yanilda González and is co-sponsored by:
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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 discussion focusing on urgent issues—from economic and climate justice to immigration and mass incarceration —that the next Mayor of Boston must address to rectify structural inequities and support Black and Brown communities.
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The Ash Center’s event featured members of Mães de Maio (Mothers of May), a collective of mothers whose children were killed by police in May 2006 in one of the largest police massacres in Brazilian history.
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Kennedy School Assistant Professor Yanilda González delves into the roots of police violence in democratic countries in her latest book.
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The Ash Center hosted an event in the What Justice Looks Like series for a conversation with activists from Black youth-led movements from the US and Latin America, leading the struggle against racial injustice, from police violence to structural racism and disparate effects of the COVID pandemic on racialized and low-income communities.