AG HEALEY ANNOUNCES CHILDREN’S JUSTICE UNIT

 AG HEALEY ANNOUNCES CHILDREN’S JUSTICE UNIT

Renames First-of-its-Kind Unit; Expands Work Around Education, Juvenile Justice, Child Welfare, Immigration, and Substance Use Prevention

BOSTON – To reflect the breadth of work being done to promote more equitable and positive outcomes for vulnerable children and young people in Massachusetts, Attorney General Maura Healey today announced her office’s newly-renamed Children’s Justice Unit (CJU). The unit replaces the Child and Youth Protection Unit, the first-of-its kind unit that AG Healey created in 2015.

As the unit has developed over the years, it has taken on a broad range of litigation and policy work, including in education, juvenile justice, child welfare, immigration, and substance use prevention. Embedded in and working closely with the AG’s Civil Rights Division, CJU has focused on initiatives that ensure justice and equity for Massachusetts’s young people.

“We created this unit to utilize our office’s unique position and expertise to advocate for and protect our state’s youngest residents, and we have seen that work grow over the past five years to meet the needs of children and families,” AG Healey said. “As we take on more initiatives to ensure justice and equity, we want the focus of our newly-named Children’s Justice Unit to reflect our increased work to support vulnerable children and young people in Massachusetts.”

Some examples of CJU’s past and present work include:

• Addressing hate, bullying, and harassment in schools: CJU engages in work to stop harassment and bullying in schools. Recent work includes creating guidance for schools to help prevent and address hate and bias incidents, suing former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos over Title IX regulations that weaken protections for sexual assault and harassment survivors, and most recently filing a Supreme Court amicus brief supporting schools’ ability to address certain off-campus bullying.
• Education equity: CJU’s focus on education equity includes advocacy on K-12 school funding reform. This work is all the more important given the education inequities exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Early education and care: CJU leads work to support the state’s youngest residents, including creating a grant program for early education and care providers seeking training on trauma-informed care for at-risk children and leading the office’s response to the closure of childcare programs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• School resource officers: CJU’s work related to school resource officers includes the release of a statewide model Memorandum of Understanding for School Resource Officers to help create a safe and supportive learning environment and serving as AG Healey’s designee on the Model School Resource Officer Memorandum of Understanding Review Commission established in recent legislation.
• Food insecurity: CJU engages in work to address hunger among children and their families, including fighting back against Trump Administration rules to limit Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (or SNAP) benefits and take away free school meals. CJU has also built partnerships with local food banks and advocacy organizations to help combat food insecurity.
• Children in DCF care or other out-of-home situations: Working with partners in government and advocacy organizations, CJU works to promote the best interests of children who are involved with DCF and/or in caregiving situations outside of their home. For example, CJU represents AG Healey on the Commission on the Status of Grandparents Raising Grandchildren and advocated for legislation signed into law this year that provides a right to counsel for indigent long-term guardians in custody cases. CJU has also engaged in advocacy for the rights of LGBTQ caregivers, including through amicus briefs in support of the right of same-sex couples to be foster parents, to help ensure that children in foster care have loving, caring homes available to them.
• Human trafficking of children: In a new partnership with AG Healey’s Human Trafficking Division, CJU is increasing its work to help prevent and address human trafficking of children, specifically commercial sexual exploitation, using advocacy, public education, and/or civil enforcement tools.

• Federal immigration lawsuits: CJU has fought back against Trump Administration immigration actions targeting young people and their families, including multistate cases to stop family separation, prevent prolonged and indefinite family detention, and protect international students in Massachusetts. CJU will continue to pursue outreach and other work with state and federal partners to bolster trust and protections and undo harms against immigrant communities in Massachusetts.
• Youth vaping: In partnership with AG Healey’s Consumer Protection Division (CPD), CJU has helped to file litigation against e-cigarette companies, including JUUL Labs Inc., for creating a youth vaping epidemic by intentionally marketing and selling its e-cigarettes to young people. With CPD and AG Healey’s Policy & Government Division, CJU advocated for successful legislation banning flavored e-cigarettes and other tobacco products.

The Children’s Justice Unit leverages its expertise by working closely with other divisions and bureaus in the AG’s Office on child-related work and also advises child-serving state agencies. The unit is led by Director Angela Brooks and Assistant Attorney General Abby Eshghi.

麻州再撥款抗疫 1460萬元資助295家企業

 Baker-Polito Administration Awards More Than $14 Million in Grants to 295 Additional Businesses for COVID Relief

BOSTON – Today, the Baker-Polito Administration announced approximately $14.6 million in awards for 295 additional businesses in the eleventh round of COVID relief grants administered by the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation (MGCC). As in prior rounds, each grant recipient meets sector or demographic priorities set for the grant programs administered by MGCC. 

With the addition of this round of grants, the Administration has awarded almost $648 million in direct financial support to 14,351 businesses across the Commonwealth. Grants for this round were awarded to 107 minority-owned, and 107 woman-owned, businesses; 64 grantees are in the restaurant sector, 91 recipients are located in Gateway Cities, and 104 businesses have not received any prior aid.

Acknowledging the importance of restaurants and independent retailers to communities across Massachusetts, business owners of multiple locations that met demographic and sector priorities are receiving awards to support additional locations.

Additionally, MGCC this week announced the availability of funding to support non-profits that offer technical assistance designed to help existing small businesses recover and thrive post COVID-19, as well as community development financial institutions that will back the recovery, resiliency and growth of small businesses in underserved communities through matching capital.​

麻州本週將多領到4萬劑強生疫苗 州府撥款一億助四市抗疫

麻州州長查理貝克將撥款一意協助4城市抗疫。(視頻截圖)

             (Boston Orange 周菊子綜合報導)麻州州長查理貝克(Charlie Baker)今(25)日表示，麻州下星期將從聯邦政府那兒多領到40,800劑強生(J&J)新冠疫苗，另外將從國會紓困款中撥1億元，濟助麻州雀喜(Chelsea)、艾弗瑞(Everett)，米修(Methuen)，以及龍都(Randolph)等受新冠病毒打擊最嚴重的4個城市。

麻州也將多收到2萬劑用於施打第一劑的輝瑞(Pfizer)疫苗。查理貝克強調，強生疫苗只需注射一劑，保存不需嚴峻低溫，可減少很多運送及保存問題，其實是更好的選擇。

由於麻州內約有2萬多人因各種原因，難以出門。麻州政府特地設置844-771-1628這有多種語言翻譯的電話熱線，讓已符合接種疫苗資格者，在週一至週五的早上9點至下午5點之間撥打，安排上門打疫苗服務。

麻州健康及人民服務長Marylou Sudders說明疫苗細節。

州政府將在聯邦政府明定紓困款使用規定細節後，再和各社區最後協商，協助市鎮因應新冠病毒帶來的經濟影響，以及稅收損失，同時投資修建水，下水道，寬頻網路等基礎建設。

聯邦政府每週分發給麻州的疫苗，本週數量約為172,000第一劑疫苗，其中7,900劑為強生(J&J)疫苗。若包括第一及第二劑，麻州本週將共獲得33萬劑疫苗。聯邦政府直接發給聯邦零售藥店項目，或是符合聯邦醫療中心資格(FQHC)機構的疫苗劑量，並不包括在內。

麻州政府以新聞稿說明，本週的第一及第二劑疫苗分發概況為，115,120劑交給了醫療系統及醫療護理供應者，但不包括社區健康中心。109,750劑交給了麻州大型疫苗站。55,850劑交給了區域合作機構，以及地方醫療局。28,820劑交給了社區健康中心。10,350劑交給了零售藥店(非CVS)。9,800劑交給了支援長照機構，集體照顧場所及可負擔/低收入耆英住宅大樓，以及出門不便個人的流動門診。

聯邦政府直接發給CVS等聯邦零售藥店合作夥伴的新冠疫苗，本週共有115,800劑，15個FQHC獲得24,570劑。

麻州政府表示，初步估計，麻州可從2021年美國援救法中獲得79億元直接補助，其中包括要撥交給地方市鎮的34億元。由於在麻州受新冠病毒打擊最嚴重的20個市鎮中，雀喜，艾弗瑞，米修及龍都等四個城市，因人口地理等因素，能夠分到的聯邦補助費用較少，麻州政府因此將另撥款一億元，協助這四個城市因應新冠病毒帶來的經濟影響，以及稅收損失，投資修建水資源，下水道，寬頻網路等基礎建設。

麻州近來已斥資3300萬元，用於協助民眾接種新冠疫苗，其中250萬元用於，包括雇用Archipelago策略公司和全民健保(Heathcare for All)這兩機構，辦理草根式的逐戶打電話或上門解釋活動，更多人知道疫苗的效果，施打方式，地點，並預約疫苗注射等等訊息。

Baker-Polito Administration Provides Weekly Dose Updates, $100 Million for Disproportionately Impacted Communities, Announces Homebound Vaccination Program

 BOSTON – Today, the Baker-Polito Administration announced the weekly distribution of COVID-19 vaccine doses to providers across the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth has received 330,000 first and second doses from the federal government as part of the state allocation of doses.

 The Administration also announced $100 million in funding for four communities – Chelsea, Everett, Methuen and Randolph – that are all designated hardest hit communities but received disproportionately smaller levels of federal funding in the recently passed $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act compared to other communities.

 The Administration also announced the launch of the Commonwealth’s homebound vaccination program to build on the Administration’s efforts to ensure that all residents of the Commonwealth have equitable access to the vaccine.

 Dose Update

 The Administration provided the weekly update for doses allocated from the federal government.

 This week, the state received a modest increase in supply of first doses, for a total of 172,000. This includes 7,900 doses of J&J vaccine.

 In total, the Commonwealth received 330,000 first and second doses as part of the state allocation. These figures do not include doses provided directly from the federal government to the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program or to Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC).

 This week, first doses and second dose state allocations (total doses), were distributed among providers as follows:

• Health systems and health care providers (excluding community health centers): 115,120

• Mass vaccination locations: 109,750

• Regional Collaboratives and Local Boards of Health: 55,850

• Community Health Centers: 28,820

• Retail pharmacies (non-CVS) state allocation: 10,350

• Mobile Clinics supporting long-term care facilities, congregate care, affordable/low-income senior housing and homebound individuals: 9,800

Weekly allocations are subject to change based on federal availability, demand from providers, and obligations to meet second doses. Providers have 10 days to use their doses and must meet specific performance thresholds.

The Administration has also been informed that the federal government will send a one-time allocation of 40,800 doses of J&J vaccine to the Commonwealth next week as well as a one-time allocation of 20,000 Pfizer first doses.

Federal Doses:

In addition to the state allocation, the federal government distributes vaccines to CVS Health sites as part of the Federal Retail Pharmacy Partnership as well as to certain Massachusetts federally qualified community health centers. These quantities fluctuate on a weekly basis and are not counted as part of the state’s weekly allocation.

This week, 115,800 first and second doses were allocated to the retail pharmacy program.

15 FQHCs received 24,570 doses directly from the Federal Government.

Municipal Funding

The Baker-Polito Administration today announced that a total of $100 million in aid will be distributed to Chelsea, Everett, Methuen, and Randolph, four communities that were hit hardest by COVID-19 but are expected to receive disproportionally smaller amounts of federal funding through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. These four municipalities will be able to use this $100 million in direct aid to support costs related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including direct response efforts, addressing negative economic impacts, replacing revenue lost during the pandemic, making investments in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure, as well as other eligible expenditures.

Based on preliminary estimates published by the US House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Massachusetts is expected to receive a total of approximately $7.9 billion in direct aid through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, including $3.4 billion to counties, cities, and towns in Massachusetts. A portion of this $3.4 billion is being allocated to municipalities based on the federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program formula, while assistance to other communities is being allocated on a per-capita basis. The use of these two different allocation formulas creates disparities in distributions among cities and towns, and Chelsea, Everett, Methuen, and Randolph are the four designated hardest hit communities with disproportionately smaller levels of federal funding compared to other hardest hit communities.

The commitment announced today by the Baker-Polito Administration includes distributing $100 million to address disparities in funding allocations among these four hardest hit communities after the US Treasury publishes final payment figures in the coming weeks. The Administration will work with the Legislature to use existing or future sources of federal revenue to fund this commitment.

Homebound  Vaccination Program

Beginning March 29, the Administration will launch a homebound vaccination program to provide in-home vaccinations to homebound individuals who cannot leave their home, even with supports, to get to a COVID-19 vaccine appointment.

In-home vaccinations will be available to homebound individuals who:

·  Have considerable difficulty and/or require significant support to leave the home for medical appointments

·  Require an ambulance or two-person assistance to leave the home

·  Are not able to leave home for medical appointments under normal circumstances.

168 local Boards of Health (representing about 40% of MA’s population) will conduct a homebound vaccination program for their community residents, while homebound residents of 183 municipalities (representing 60% of MA’s population) will receive vaccines through the statewide service through Commonwealth Care Alliance (CCA).

Health care providers, Aging Services Access Points (ASAP), Local Boards of Health, Councils on Aging (COAs) and other community organizations will be connecting individuals to the homebound program. In addition, homebound individuals and their loved ones can call 1-833-983-0485 to schedule an appointment and determine if they meet eligibility for in-home vaccination. The registration phone line is open Monday through Friday from 9 AM to 5 PM and has representatives who speak English and Spanish, as well as translation services available in 100+ languages.

“CCA is honored to lead this critical mission of vaccinating homebound citizens of Massachusetts,” said Christopher D. Palmieri, President and Chief Executive Officer, Commonwealth Care Alliance. “Since our inception, CCA’s approach to care has been rooted in the community to ensure the most appropriate site of care for the individuals we so proudly serve. Over the past few weeks, we have successfully vaccinated hundreds of our own homebound health plan members, and our team is ready to expand this effort across the state and aid the Commonwealth’s vaccination effort in any way we can.”

昆士市反亞裔種族歧視論壇 5市鎮警察局局長出席

 

昆士反亞裔種族歧視論壇邀5警察局長出席。(視頻截圖)

        (Boston Orange 周菊子麻州報導)警察需要處理種族議題的訓練，亞裔得遭遇不平就發聲，報案。昆士市亞協服務中心(QARI)和諾福克郡地方檢察官辦公室，麻州眾議員陳德基合作，3月23日晚在網上舉辦”反亞裔種族歧視論壇(Anti-Asian Racism Forum)”，有5名警察局局長出席。

諾福克郡地方檢察官Michael W. Morrissey在會末表示，當晚有不少民意代表出席，可見很多人都在關心相關議題，這樣的警民溝通值得推廣，考慮繼續舉辦類似活動。

麻州有14個郡，諾福克(Norfolk)是其中之一，內含28個市鎮。曾任麻州眾議會議長的Michael W. Morrissey在2010年當選為諾福克郡地方檢察官，並連任迄今。經由他出面，布魯克蘭鎮(Brookline)的Mark Morgan，多佛鎮(Dover) Peter A. McGowan，尼登鎮(Needham)Leo Schlittler，昆士市(Quincy)Paul Keenan，衛斯理市(Wellesley) Jack Pilecki等5個市鎮的警察局局長當晚都出席了論壇，親自聆聽亞裔民眾對於近來反亞裔種族歧視的憂慮。

昆市亞協服務中心執行長莊健豪主持論壇。

這場論壇由昆市亞協服務中心執行長莊健豪主持，麻州眾議員陳德基(Tackey Chan)，前任諾福克郡民權長，曾任麻州財政廳副廳長的李熙嬡(Grace Lee)分別簡述做為亞裔，他們自己曾經有過的親身經歷。

諾福克郡地方檢察官辦公室民權長Peter Tillery先開宗明義的式地指出，亞裔如果遭遇事故，有3個地方可申訴，警察局，法院，以及檢察官辦公室的民權組。他強調，亞裔必須謹記，不論是錄音，臉書貼文，照片，視頻，電郵，要把所有和事情有關的情況記錄下來，才容易伸張正義。

布魯克蘭鎮的Mark Morgan表示，該鎮人口有17%是亞裔，警察也有9%是亞裔，其中不乏會說國語，廣東話的，民眾遇到狀況，應可順利報案。多佛鎮的Peter A. McGowan表示，民眾若需要，警察可提供服務電話表單。尼登鎮Leo Schlittler強調，警察的工作就是要保護民眾，希望民眾能和警察建立良好關係。衛斯理市Jack Pilecki也重申警察的任務是保護民眾，但是民眾必須要報案，即使犯案者的行為未重至會被判刑，但民眾必須報案，警察才能涉入調查，並因此觸使犯案者察覺自己行為的錯誤。在昆士市警局已任職38年的Paul Keenan表示，由於文化差異引發的恐懼，可能存在，但警察會和民眾合作，這麼多年以後，整個社會氛圍也已經很不一樣了。一旦新冠病毒大流行過去後，昆市警察局將更努力地和民眾接觸。今年該局已經新聘一名亞裔女警。

諾福克郡地方檢察官Michael W. Morrissey。

在闡述亞裔處境時，陳德基表示，昆士市早年的確並不友善，他和弟弟當年是昆市學校裡唯一的有色人種。他們家撥911電話，或家中遭竊找警察時，都沒人理會。他們當年沉默，並不是出於自己的選擇。這也是為什麼麻州亞美局成立時，他特地促請Michael Morrissey支持。

李熙嬡例數亞裔早從18世紀就遭遇過的許多不公平事件說起，包括排華法案，日本集中營，陳果仁事件等等。她自己當年在加州地方檢察官辦公室工作時，也親身遭遇過調侃，歧視。她也因此非常堅決，相關案件，就算罪證不足，也一定要讓嫌犯經歷被告過程，以逼使那些人深思，以後不會輕易再犯。

麻州眾議員陳德基。

李熙嬡指出，教育是很重要的一環，美國課本中幾乎完全沒有亞裔對這國家曾經有過很多貢獻的敘述，亞裔在社會中有如隱形人群，才更容易地成為了替罪羔羊。

當晚有Sharon Man等民眾發言，敘述自己的遭遇。其中一人坦言，以前不知道自己遭遇狀況，有那些途徑可以申述，很高興有這樣的活動，讓更多人有所警覺。

莊健豪在會末指出，這論壇的錄影記錄，可向昆市亞協服務中心索取，或上諾福克郡地方檢查辦公室網站查覽。

曾任麻州財政廳副廳長的李熙嬡(Grace Lee)。

昆士市(Quincy)警察局局長Paul Keenan。

尼登鎮(Needham)警察局局長Leo Schlittler。

布魯克蘭鎮(Brookline)警察局局長Mark Morgan。

衛斯理市(Wellesley)警察局局長 Jack Pilecki。

諾福克郡地方檢察官辦公室民權長Peter Tillery。

昆士市長Tom Koch成立委員會研究多元化及平等公平

昆士市長柯奇(Tom Koch)。(檔案照片)

             (Boston Orange周菊子整理報導)昆士市市長柯奇(Tom Koch)今(24)日宣佈成立市長的委員會，以研究昆士市在多元化，平等及包容上的表現。預計今春及夏進行調查，最遲今秋提出改善建議。

             該委員會的任務包括調查昆士市的招聘作業，在接觸所有市民上的努力程度，加強市府個部門和公眾之間的關係與溝通，是否需要聘請一名全職的多元化/平等/包容員工等。

             柯奇表示，一個半世紀以來，昆士市一直是來自世界各地移民定居的地方，美國也是不同國家，族裔，宗教，種族及語言的熔爐。昆士市定期自我評估表現，以確保能夠持續滿足市府所服務所有人們的不斷衍化需要。

             柯奇還補充道，昆士市的最大資產就是人民，學生們在進出教室的上學受教育過程中，吸收了不同文化，傳統，觀點，及經驗而大為受益。

             昆士市的人口非常多元，有41%自認為是亞裔，黑人，美國土著，西班牙裔或多族裔。根據昆士市公校系統數據，有60%的學生是非白人。麻州政府也因此認可昆士市為少數族裔佔多數的城市。

             統計數據顯示，38%的昆士市家庭，家中至少有一人說一種英語以外的語言。33%的昆士居民出生於另一個國家，這比州政府的平均數據高二倍，比大波士頓/劍橋市都會區高一倍半。

             柯奇市長表示，設立這”多元，平等及包容委員會”，他不僅只是要在如何服務大眾上做有意義的改進，更要傳達所有居民在昆士市內都受重視的訊息。他說，”我認為我們在這方面做得很好，但永遠都可以再改進”。

Below is from the City of Quincy:

Mayor Koch Forms Committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

QUINCY, MA March 24, 2021 Mayor Thomas Koch announced that he is establishing a Mayoral Commission to study the

city’s performance on diversity, equity, and inclusion. The committee will be tasked with investigating the city’s

recruitment and hiring practices, public outreach efforts to all populations, access to public facilities, enhancing relationship

and communication between City government/departments and the public, the need for a full-time

Diversity/Equity/Inclusion Officer, and maintaining/creating a welcoming environment for all people.

“For more than a century and a half, Quincy has been a city where immigrants from around the world have settled,” said

Mayor Koch. “We are a melting pot of different national origins, ethnicities, religions, races, and languages. Its important

that we regularly self-assess our performance to ensure that we continue to meet the evolving needs of all the people

whom we serve.”

The committee will be tasked with investigating particular areas of importance and making recommendations for how the

city can best serve its entire population. Mayor Koch will request that the committee conduct their work through the

Spring and Summer and have recommendations available for implementation not later than this Fall

Added Mayor Koch, “Quincy’s greatest asset is its people, whether they be lifetime Quincy residents, first-generation

Americans, or anywhere in between. Our schools benefit greatly from our diversity as students absorb different cultures,

traditions, perspectives, and experiences as part of their own education inside and out of the classroom. Our business

community also benefits greatly from the entrepreneurial spirit of many of our first-generation Americans. We want to

make sure Quincy remains a welcoming community to people from around the globe.”

Quincy’s diverse population includes 41% of the population that identifies as either Asian, Black, Native, Hispanic, or multiracial.

More than 60% of the Quincy Public School students identify as an ethnicity other than “white” according to QPS

and DESE data, making Quincy a State-recognized “majority-minority” district.

Statistics show that 38% of households in Quincy have a language other than English spoken in the home. More than 33%

of Quincy residents were born in another country, which is more than double the State average and one-and-a-half times

higher than the greater Boston/Cambridge Metro Area.

Added Koch, “My goal for this Mayoral Commission is not just to make meaningful improvements in how we serve the

public but to also send a message that all residents are valued in our community. I think we do a decent job with that now

but we can always improve. I want to thank the folks that volunteered to serve on this important commission and I look

forward to their recommendations.”

波士頓市第55任市長Kim Janey宣誓就任

 KIM JANEY SWORN IN AS 55TH MAYOR OF BOSTON DURING CEREMONY AT CITY HALL

“As we turn to the future, I am ready to lead our city toward healing, justice and joy. We can’t go back. Our only option is to go better

 

Mayor Kim Janey is sworn in by Chief Justice Kimberly Budd, with her granddaughter Rosie holding a Bible

Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley spoke at Kim Janey's
swearing-in ceremony. ( Photo by Chutze Chou)

BOSTON - Wednesday, March 24, 2021 - Mayor Kim Janey was sworn into office today as the 55th Mayor of the City of Boston during an intimate City Hall ceremony that was attended by close friends and family. Mayor Janey, who makes history as the first woman and the first Black mayor in Boston’s history, was administered the oath of office by Chief Justice Kimberly Budd, the first Black woman to lead the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, the first woman of color to serve on the Boston City Council, presided over the ceremony, and Reverend Willie Bodrick, II, Senior Pastor at the Historic Twelfth Baptist Church, delivered the invocation. Mayor Janey takes office after former Mayor Martin J. Walsh was confirmed earlier this week by the United States Senate to be the nation’s next Secretary of Labor.

“Today is a new day,” said Mayor Janey. “I stand before you as the first woman and the first Black mayor of Boston, the city that I love. I come to this day with a life experience that is different from the men who came before me. I was born into a family with deep roots in the South End and six generations in Roxbury, the center of our great city. I come from a long line of proud educators, entrepreneurs, artists and advocates. I am grateful for my parents who raised me, my daughter who inspired me, my siblings who supported me, and my aunties, uncles and cousins who have always rooted for me. Thank you, all.”

Mayor Janey will lead Boston through the COVID-19 pandemic with a citywide agenda for recovery, reopening and renewal. Her pandemic recovery priorities include distributing vaccines effectively, returning children to school safely, and centering disadvantaged workers and businesses in the city’s economic recovery. 

Mayor Janey’s swearing-in speech was framed by the values that she was raised with and that guide her to this day: the importance of education, the power of community organizing, and the fundamental principles of equity and justice. She talked about being forced onto the front lines of the battle to desegregate Boston’s public schools as an eleven year-old middle school student who faced rocks and racial slurs during the busing era and about how becoming a young mother in high school helped shape her life.

As one of only two Black students in her high school graduating class, Mayor Janey attended Reading Public Schools through the METCO program. She would go on to attend Smith College before withdrawing to care for her grandfather. Janey began her advocacy on behalf of children inspired by the interconnection of her own daughter’s experiences with those of other children. In her role at Massachusetts Advocates for Children, Mayor Janey championed systemic policy reforms to increase equity, excellence, access, and opportunity in Boston Public Schools. She placed a special focus on eliminating opportunity and achievement gaps for children of color, immigrant children, students who are learning English, children with special needs, and those living in poverty.

“As I assume the responsibilities of the Mayor of Boston, I promise to give you bold, courageous leadership,” said Mayor Janey. “Our recovery must include working together on behalf of our children. That means safely reopening our schools and vaccinating our teachers. That also means investing in a summer of opportunities. I will partner with the superintendent to rally the business community, neighborhood groups and faith-based organizations to help our children recover academically and emotionally.”

Mayor Janey discussed education and opportunity as personal issues for her, highlighting that she fought hard to ensure her daughter had access to a quality public education and citing her work over two decades to increase equity and excellence in education to all students in Boston Public Schools.

“Our nation and our city are built on a promise that achieving your dreams is possible -- regardless of race, religion, immigration status, income, gender identity, or who you love -- but we have so much work to do to make those dreams real for everyone,” said Mayor Janey. “And we have to start by calling out the challenges facing our city openly, honestly and transparently,” she said while highlighting the enormous wealth gap that exists for Black families in Boston. In 2015, a report commissioned by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston called The Color of Wealth in Boston found that while white households have a median net worth of $247,500, the median net worth of Black families is just $8.

Pledging to address economic disparities with new urgency to reopen Boston’s economy with equity in the wake of the pandemic, Mayor Janey cited inequality in city contracting as a priority. She also committed to building upon her work as City Council President to reform policing in Boston in order to help dismantle systemic racism. 

“While today is a new day, while Boston has come so far, we also must acknowledge that we have so much more work to do. That work starts now,” said Mayor Janey.

Mayor Janey paid special tribute to the long line of Black women in Boston who helped break down barriers and pave the way for the city’s first woman of color to become Mayor. Mayor Janey honored activists like Melnea Cass, journalists like Sarah Ann Shaw and Liz Walker, and public servants like Doris Bunte, Jean McGuire and Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins, saying, “I stand on their shoulders today.”

Mayor Janey took a moment to congratulate newly sworn-in Secretary of Labor Martin J. Walsh on his confirmation this week and to thank him for his seven years of service as mayor of Boston. “As a son of Dorchester, your achievement makes us all proud,” said Mayor Janey. “Working people across our country could not have a more passionate advocate in Washington.”

Prior to becoming Mayor, Janey made history in 2017 when she was elected to the Boston City Council as the first woman to represent District 7, which includes Roxbury and parts of the South End, Dorchester, and the Fenway. In 2020, she was elected by her peers as President of the Boston City Council.

A recording and the full text of Mayor Janey’s swearing-in speech is available here. People can follow Mayor Janey on Twitter and Instagram for updates. (City of Boston's press release)