Let’s Talk about Upcoming Votes

Tomorrow, the MA House is voting on a bill to generate revenue for an offshore wind investment fund and establish a slate of tax credits and incentives to promote offshore wind.

Massachusetts is well-positioned to be a leader in the renewable energy economy, but as we grow that sector, it is important that we make sure that all communities, especially the underserved, can benefit from the new opportunities provided.

Urge your state rep to support Amendment #10: Environmental Justice and Economic Opportunity, which would strengthen the diversity and inclusion provisions in the bill.

The Work & Family Mobility Act: What’s Next?

Last month, the MA House voted 120 to 36 to pass the Work & Family Mobility Act (often referred to as the “Driver’s License Bill”), which would enable all qualified state residents to apply for a standard Massachusetts driver’s license or identification card regardless of immigrant status.

The case for the bill is clear. Many MA residents depend on a car to get to work, to school, to the hospital, etc., and immigration status shouldn’t be a barrier to getting a license. If all drivers have passed the same test and know the same rules of the road, and are properly insured, we all benefit from the safer roads that result.

Despite this, the bill had been stalled in the Legislature session after session. But the years of hard work done by advocates, especially those from immigrant-led organizations, paid off.

But the work isn’t done.

The bill now goes to the State Senate. Email your state senator to vote YES and to urge Senate Leadership to take up the bill as soon as possible!

Also, don’t forget: positive reinforcement is important too. So thank your state rep if they voted for the bill.

Know What’s on the Ballot

Do you know what an Attorney General, an Auditor, and a Secretary of the Commonwealth does?

Do you want to know?

And do you want to find out more about what the candidates vying for these important statewide positions plan to do with these offices?

Then join us on Saturday, March 26, at 1 pm for our Spring Candidate Interviews.

All are welcome! Just RSVP here.

News Roundup — December 15, 2021

“Michelle Wu: Cities Must Lead for the Green New Deal,” The Nation

“Action at the city level is what will make national momentum possible on our most urgent issues, and this is the level of government where we are closest to people, where we can innovate and move quickly. Most importantly, this is the level of government where we uniquely are in the position to earn the trust of our communities.”


“It’s like a slow war, like a slow burn. Like a slow, quiet form of torture,” The Appeal

“Solitary confinement is a punishment that correctional officers wield freely, and its harms are catastrophic. The practice — confinement in a cell for up to 24 hours a day — can lead to psychosis, self-mutilation, and suicide. A study of people incarcerated in North Carolina found that those subjected to solitary were almost 80 percent more likely to die by suicide within a year after their release than those not placed in solitary.”


“Will the Legislature let pandemic mail-in and early voting reforms expire?,” WBUR

“Many municipalities benefited from these reforms, but still, they’re set to expire Wednesday….There was talk of extending them while the House and Senate hashed out a more permanent solution. But with the legislature not in formal session, it appears highly unlikely they will act to do so in time.”


“Edwards beats D’Ambrosio in special election primary for state Senate,” CommonWealth

“While the race largely turned into a turf battle pitting D’Ambrosio’s solid base of support in Revere against Edwards’s strength in Boston and Cambridge, it was also a referendum on whether the district would embrace the progressive wave has that sent Wu, Pressley, and other political change agents into office in recent years or stick to a more moderate Democratic lane.”


“Primary win all but ensures progressive Boston City Councilor Lydia Edwards a State Senate seat,” WGBH

“What I’ve been consistent about is talking about how as a senator, you can take a regional approach, which is necessary to deal with housing, to deal with transportation, to deal with environmental justice, to deal with education … dealing with the opioid crisis, there is no one city or town that can do it alone.”


“Earmark process in ARPA bill undermines racial equity goals,” CommonWealth

“But those diversity and equity goals collided with lawmakers’ penchant for using budget negotiations to fund pet projects in their districts. The result: The bulk of arts funding in the huge spending bill is tied up in local earmarks, only a small percentage of which are geared toward organizations led by or primarily serving people of color.”


“Mass. falling behind on marijuana equity mandate,” CommonWealth

“Let’s be real about this: communities all over this state still experience the painful impacts of the War on Drugs today. The families that have been torn apart by over-policing and over-enforcement should be the first to benefit now that marijuana is legal. Massachusetts knows what it takes to make sure equity materializes, and now is the time to carry out its promise by investing in those who deserve to participate in this industry.”


“California Plans To Be Abortion Sanctuary If Roe Overturned,” HuffPost

“The report recommends funding — including public spending — to support patients seeking abortion for travel expenses such as gas, lodging, transportation and child care. It asks lawmakers to reimburse abortion providers for services to those who can’t afford to pay — including those who travel to California from other states whose income is low enough that they would qualify for state-funded abortions under Medicaid if they lived there.”

Testimony in Support of Data Equity & Indigenous Peoples Day

Tuesday, September 28, 2021

Dear Chairman Pacheco, Chairman Cabral, and Members of the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight:

My name is Jonathan Cohn, and I am the chair of the Issues Committee at Progressive Massachusetts, a statewide grassroots advocacy group working to advance progressive policy here in the Commonwealth.

We would like to go on record in support of two bills being heard today: H.3115 (An Act Ensuring Equitable Representation in the Commonwealth) and H.3191/S.2027 (An Act establishing an Indigenous Peoples Day).

The diversity in our Commonwealth is a source of our strength, and we are continuing to get more diverse. Our state programs, policies, and investments need to understand that diversity in its entirety, and that cannot happen without accurate data. The demographic groups in the Commonwealth are not monoliths, and without disaggregating the data, we risk erasing persistent social, economic, or educational inequalities.

All ethnic subgroups have different histories, background, needs, and challenges. Without accurate data broken down by detailed sub-ethnic groups, critical needs of some communities in areas such as language, economic status, education, and health could be left unmet. Indeed, they already are. We cannot correct the inequities that we cannot see, and we cannot see them without comprehensive data.

Government agencies that currently collect voluntary demographic data based on race or ethnicity of residents should include voluntary subgroup options for Asian, Pacific Islander, Latino, Black and African American, and White. This would highlight and uplift data representing communities including but not limited to Vietnamese, Cambodian, Bangladeshi, Nepalese, Haitian, Cape Verdean, Ethiopian, Somalian, Puerto Rican, Salvadoran, Dominicans, and Colombians. We must also recognize the diversity within the Native American, Middle Eastern, and North African communities in Massachusetts, which currently have limited recognition by the Census Bureau.

According to a famous saying, we measure what we value. If we value the diversity of our state, and the importance of correcting systemic inequities, then we need to pass H.3115 as swiftly as possible.  

For decades, Christopher Columbus has been celebrated as a “hero” who “discovered America.” Indigenous people have made it clear that, to the contrary, these lands were invaded, not “discovered,” and that Columbus and his men were responsible for the enslavement, rape, and murder of countless Indigenous peoples in the Caribbean. Since the 1970s, Indigenous people have asked that Indigenous Peoples Day should instead be celebrated on the second Monday in October as a positive day to learn about and honor Indigenous history and peoples.

Our neighbors in Maine and Vermont already celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day, as do an increasing number of cities and towns in Massachusetts. The Commonwealth should join them, and H.3191/S.2027: An Act establishing an Indigenous Peoples Day will make that happen.

Thank you in advance for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Cohn

Chair, Issues Committee

Progressive Massachusetts

Standing in Solidarity with the AAPI Community

Earlier this week, a white supremacist mass shooter targeted three spas in Atlanta, killing eight people, six of whom were Asian-American women. We condemn such actions and the dehumanizing rhetoric that fuels them, and stand in solidarity with the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community.

This tragedy was a reminder of how the epidemic of gun violence in this country is deeply intertwined with legacies of white supremacy and misogyny, and it is disturbing to see individuals already trying to deny the racist motivations behind the shooter’s actions. 

Hate crimes against Asian-Americans have risen sharply over the past year, although such xenophobia is not a new phenomenon — as the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the Japanese internment camps demonstrate. Charting a future that is different from the past requires us all to commit to fostering a culture of solidarity borne out not just in words but in laws that strengthen the rights and protections for immigrants and workers who are most at risk.

For resources about how to take action and be an effective ally, visit the Asian American Commission website.

Black Lives Matter

Black Lives Matter

The killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, David McAtee, and Rayshard Brooks have served as a tragic reminder of the epidemic that is police brutality in the United States. 

Over the past few weeks (indeed, over the past few years), we keep seeing more video evidence of how widespread, how dehumanizing, and how fatal police violence is and how disproportionately such violence is used against the Black community. Some say the current wave of protests is a historic turning point; we need to make it one.

It is important to recognize that the graphic imagery of police brutality is just one of the many violent manifestations of systemic racism and white supremacy. The underfunding of schools in communities of color is a form of violence. The denial of health care access is a form of violence. Exclusionary housing policies are a form of violence. The environmental injustices of siting pollution near communities of color is a form of violence. 

The statistics of systemic racism in Massachusetts are clear. 

Systemic racism is why the incarceration rate among our Commonwealth’s Black population is almost seven times that of the white population (while the population is nine times smaller). 

Systemic racism is why the median wealth for a Black household in Greater Boston is $8, whereas the median wealth of a white household is nearly $250,000. 

Systemic racism is why Black women in Greater Boston make 52 cents for every dollar that white men make.

Systemic racism is why air pollution increased in Black communities in the Commonwealth while falling statewide. 

We are happy to see that our national elected officials like Senators Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley have already filed legislation to increase accountability for police officers. 

Beyond such important reforms, we need to fundamentally rethink what public safety means. Bloated and militarized police budgets and ever-expanding budgets for prisons and jails are not what keeps communities safe; indeed, communities are less safe because of them. 

What keeps communities safe are investments in schools, in housing, in health care, and in community-led development. Our budgets need to reflect these priorities, and our policymaking should stop being hindered by the constant box-checking desire to have a police endorsement for any piece of legislation around public safety. 

Massachusetts could be leading, but we have not. The Governor and Legislature have known about these problems and the many other ways in which systemic racism manifests itself. Progressive legislators, especially progressive legislators of color, have filed legislation to advance racial equity, only to see bills dismissed in committee. The Governor and legislative leadership allow session after session to pass without meaningful action.

We are grateful to legislators who are reviving past bills and crafting new ones to address systemic inequities and racism. We are talking with our allies inside and outside the State House (as well as on the national and municipal level) about how to best amplify and support their work.

As Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley so often eloquently states, it was policy that created these injustices, and we need policies to undo them. We call on the Massachusetts Legislature, our Congressional delegation, and municipal electeds to listen to the communities who have been most impacted and to start legislating as though they actually believe that Black Lives Matter.

MassLive: Whither the Legislature’s Commitment to Racial Justice?

PM Issues Committee chair Jonathan Cohn was quoted in Steph Solis’s article in Mass Live on the Governor and Legislature’s response to the calls for racial equity in the wake of the murder of George Floyd:

 Some critics, including Jonathan Cohn of Progressive Massachusetts, quickly noted that Spilka had removed Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz, who was the only woman of color in the Senate, from her post as co-chair of the Joint Committee of Education in 2019….

Cohn, the chair of the Issues Committee for Progressive Mass, raised concerns about the Senate’s decision to launch an advisory group rather than move forward with legislation, as well as the addition of Moore, a former police officer.

Cohn said lawmakers should instead focus on re-allocating resources from police and prisons to investments in housing, health care and other priorities to support communities of color. He pointed to the recent letter from senators calling for changes to the governor’s IT bond bill as a recent example.

“So many legislators will talk about their rhetorical commitment to racial justice, but if you’re putting more money into the prison system, you’re missing the point,” he said.

CommonWealth: A stronger state safety net is part of the cure

PM Issues Committee chair Jonathan Cohn penned an editorial in CommonWealth with Karen Chen of the Chinese Progressive Association, Elena Letona of Neighbor to Neighbor, and Horace Small of the Union of Minority Neighborhoods about the need to strengthen the safety net in response to the pandemic. You can read an excerpt below and the full piece here.

LIFE UNDER QUARANTINE can easily cause many of us to lose track of time. But one date we should remember is this: Today marks one month since Gov. Charlie Baker issued a declaration of emergency.

Have our state policymakers been responding with the needed urgency? Not really.

The Legislature, now rightfully in remote function, has waived the one-week waiting period for unemployment insurance and allowed cities and towns to postpone local and special legislative elections (and took steps to expand voting access for new dates). These are important first steps. But without larger and more comprehensive action with an equity lens front and center, we risk leaving the most vulnerable populations—those who were already living in a state of emergency—behind.

Pandemics are not “great equalizers”: they underscore and exacerbate all of the inequalities that were already present.