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How Tone Policing is Used to Silence Marginalized People

Nicole Cardoza, Anti-Racism Daily
Tone policing is one of many ways that dominant culture “polices” marginalized people. Either subconsciously (informed by one’s unconscious bias) or intentionally, some people use tone policing to deflect from their own inappropriate misconduct and put the person reacting to their…

Diversity Nudges The transformational power of small changes in attracting, recruiting, and onboarding new employees can deliver a diversity dividend

Paola Cecchi-Dimeglio
Despite their commitments to diversifying their workforces, many companies continue to struggle with attracting, hiring, and retaining employees from underrepresented groups. Achieving workplace diversity is not easy, but leaders can target, address, and nudge specific data points and…

Refugees, Asylum Seekers, and Migrants

Amnesty International
There are many reasons why people around the globe seek to rebuild their lives in a different country. Some people leave home to get a job or an education. Others are forced to flee persecution or human rights violations such as torture. Millions flee from armed conflicts or other crises or…

Settlement: SNAP lawsuit against DTA about use of SNAP out of state

MLRI
  This information is for people who got a notice titled "Notice of Class Action Settlement in SNAP Lawsuit Against the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA)." These notices were mailed by DTA on July 3, 2023. Click here to see the notice in English.  Para leer esta…

Haitian Immigrants in the United States

Beatrice Dain and Jeanne Batalova
The recent increase in immigration to the United States from Haiti is the latest chapter in a decades-long story of migration in response to an array of disasters and crises. The United States is the world’s top destination for Haitian migrants. The nearly 731,000 Haiti-born U.S. residents are…

White patients are more likely than Black patients to be given opioid medication for pain in US emergency departments

Trevor Thompson and Sofia Stathi
White people who visit hospital emergency departments with pain are 26% more likely than Black people to be given opioid pain medications such as morphine. This was a key finding from our recent study, published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. We also found that Black patients were…

I studied 1 million home sales in metro Atlanta and found that Black families are being squeezed out of homeownership by corporate investors

Brian Y. An
It turns out that while Wall Street firms control just a sliver of the single-family rental market nationally, they can have much more influence at the local level. In the Atlanta metro area, these firms own nearly one-third of all single-family rental properties. They’re even more…

2023 Upper Income Limits in MassHealth and Health Connector

MLRI & MassHealth
MassHealth updates its income standards with the current year's poverty level on March 1. Attached is MLRI's table showing the upper income levels for MassHealth and Health Connector programs, updated to show the cost of living adjustments for 2023 that take effect in MassHealth…

How to think about race and administrative burdens

Don Moynihan
Administrative burdens limit access to resources and generate negative experiences of government. A related concern is that these burdens reinforce patterns of inequality. Indeed, the first formal guidance the the Biden administration offered on reducing administration burdens was in…

Racial bullying in schools is on the rise — including here in Mass.

Alexis RickmersOren Sellstrom
At a tranquil pond on Cape Cod this summer, a white teenager invoked George Floyd’s name. But it wasn’t to support the Black Lives Matter movement — it was to torment a Black youth, mocking him as his white friend allegedly trying to drown him. Earlier this month, white students at Concord…

Income/Food Benefits and Immigrant Eligibility: Chart on Eligible Statuses

Pat Baker, MLRI & Naomi Meyer, GBLS
Cash and food stamp/SNAP eligibility chart by immigration status for Massachusetts residents.

CORI Basics: Criminal Record Sealing, Expungement & Related Issues

GBLS, VLP/ERLI and DCJIS
Materials from the October 17, 2023 CORI training, presented as part of the MLRI/MCLE Basic Benefits Training (BBT) series. Training Presentations and Handouts CORI Faculty Bios (pdf) MCLE CORI Presentation (pdf of slides) CORI Sealing and Expungement (pdf of slides)  Sealing at…

Five Steps to Build and Sustain Diversity in Your Organization

Keith D. Dorsey
Creating an equitable environment and supporting diverse populations in navigating them are key to sustaining workplace diversity. Organizations can work toward this goal by taking five steps: committing to sponsorship, addressing systemic factors to eliminate glass ceilings, diagnosing “glass…

The Racism Black Kids Endure Is Spiraling Into a Health Crisis

Margo Snipe
Article discussing how new research shows that although racism might not be the most common type of discrimination, it had the greatest impact on teens. For Black kids, that stress is often caused by racism that comes in school settings: from peers, teachers, or administrators

Why Pay Transparency Regulations Are a Strategic Management Opportunity

Tamara Montag-Smit, Karoline Evans, Brandon Smit, and Cassondra Batz-Barbarich
Robust appraisal systems make pay transparency an opportunity to improve performance rather than a compliance burden.     

New MassHealth Unit for Problem Cases

MassHealth
New Escalation Protocol for Problem MassHealth Cases: The Service Solution Unit (SSU) MassHealth is standing up a new process to “escalate” problem MassHealth cases after initial attempts to resolve an issue with MassHealth Customer Service or the MassHealth Enrollment Center or other units…

Vietnamese Immigrants in the United States

Jeanne Batalova
In previous decades, the vast majority of Vietnamese immigrants to the United States arrived as refugees. Recently, most are coming through family reunification channels, either as immediate relatives of U.S. citizens or through other family-sponsored pathways. The change represents an evolution of…

Measuring The Enduring Imprint Of Structural Racism On American Neighborhoods

Zachary Dyer, Matthew J. Alcusky, Sandro Galea, and Arlene Ash
A long history of discriminatory policies in the United States has created disparities in neighborhood resources that shape ethnoracial health inequities today. To quantify these differences, we organized publicly available data on forty-two variables at the census tract level within nine domains…

Latino, Hispanic, Latinx, Chicano: The History Behind the Terms

Yara SIMÓN
The effort to coin a term to describe a wildly diverse group of Americans has long stirred controversy. The terms Latino, Hispanic and Latinx are often used interchangeably to describe a group that makes up about 19 percent of the U.S. population. While it’s now common to use umbrella terms to…

Race Wealth Snapshots

National Community Reinvestment Coalition
Catalog of socioeconomic briefs on racial wealth gaps.

Framework for Evaluating Reformist Reforms vs Abolitionist Steps

UpEND
The questions in this document provide a guide to analyze whether proposed reforms to family policing further entrench the family policing system or move us closer to abolition of family policing. The questions we ask are a reflection of the world we want to build—one without family policing and one…

BBT Training Materials

MLRI
Basic Benefits Training Schedule and Registration: 2023-2024 Massachusetts Law Reform Institute (MLRI) and Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Inc. (MCLE) present a series of trainings every year for legal, social, health services, and community advocates who assist low- and moderate-income…

MassHealth Monitoring Project

MLRI
The mission of MLRI’s MassHealth Monitoring Project is to ensure that everyone on MassHealth keeps their coverage, or moves to other affordable coverage, during the April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024 MassHealth eligibility redetermination process. This website - which includes…

Public Housing Redevelopment Residents' Bill of Rights

Mass Law Reform
The Massachusetts Union of Public Housing Tenants (Mass Union) has worked with its members and the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute has worked with legal services advocates, primarily at Greater Boston Legal Services, to create this Public Housing Redevelopment Residents' Bill of Rights to…

Maternal deaths in the U.S. more than doubled over two decades with Black mothers dying at the highest rate

CBS News
Maternal deaths across the U.S. more than doubled over the course of two decades, and the tragedy unfolded unequally. Black mothers died at the nation's highest rates, while the largest increases in deaths were found in American Indian and Native Alaskan mothers. And some states…

FPP CLA Referral Form for Community

CLA
Referral form to be used by members of the community to refer clients to CLA's FPP

FPP CLA Referral Form for DCF

CLA
Form that DCF workers should fill out to refer clients to CLA's FPP.

GBLS FPP General Intake Form

GBLS
GBLS's FPP intake form

Advancing Racial Equity: Legal Guidance for Advocates

Stephen Menedian
Memorandum has been developed for advocates willing to seek to forthrightly advance racial equity objectives while hewing as closely as possible to prevailing legal constraints and limitations. It also seeks to clarify a few common but unfortunately pervasive misunderstandings that prevail…

There Is No Rung on the Ladder That Protects You From Hate

Brian X. Chen
Asian-Americans are reeling from the killings in Georgia and a rising number of attacks nationwide. Could confronting racism bring solidarity across their class divides?

Digital divide persists even as Americans with lower incomes make gains in tech adoption

Emily A. Vogels, The Pew Institute
Roughly a quarter of adults with household incomes below $30,000 a year (24%) say they don’t own a smartphone. About four-in-ten adults with lower incomes do not have home broadband services (43%) or a desktop or laptop computer (41%). And a majority of Americans with lower incomes are not…

Inclusive Language Resources

Georgetown University Library’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee
Inclusive language is defined as language that "acknowledges diversity, conveys respect to all people, is sensitive to difference and promotes equal opportunity." While language has the power to create bonds and understanding, it often has been used to define differences that marginalize,…

Legal Aid Web Accessibility

LSNTAP
From LSNTAP (Legal Services National Technology Assistance Project):   Materials on web accessibility for legal aid

Federal Legal Materials -- Links

MLRI
Federal procedures, codes and court rules. Federal Rules of Evidence Federal Rules of Civil Procedure U.S. Code Collection United States Court of Appeals (1st Circuit) Rulebook Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure First Circuit Local Rules First Circuit Internal Operating…

UMICH Statistical Resources on the Web

UMichigan
Operated by the University of Michigan: "Find data produced by governments IGOs, NGOs, and the private sector on a wide variety of topics including demographic data on local communities, other countries, public opinion polls, criminal justice, incarceration and jails."

Massachusetts Legal Materials -- Links

MLRI
Links to Massachusetts primary law and court rules, compiled by the Massachusetts Trial Court Library. Includes Constitution Acts and Resolves Code of Mass. Regulations (CMR) Mass General Laws (Legislature's website) Selected Supreme Judicial Court and Appeals Court…

Census Data Maps

Statistical Atlas
From the About section: "StatisticalAtlas.com is a website dedicated to satisfying all your cravings for in-depth statistical data and analysis for all of the US. Get high-level overviews for the entire country, then drill down through 10+ map levels, all the way down to the individual…

Database of Public Data Projects

Data Smart City Solutions
Data-Smart City Solutions launched a searchable public database comprising cutting-edge examples of public sector data use. The "Solutions Search" indexes interactive maps and visualizations, spanning civic issue areas such as transportation, public health and housing, that are helping…

Media Advocacy: MA Newspapers

OnLine Newspapers
Links to contact information for newspapers and media outlets in Massachusetts.

Add Unpublished Decisions to Westlaw!

MLRI
It is very easy to submit otherwise unpublished decisions to Westlaw for inclusion in the West caselaw decision databases.  See the Thompson Reuters Submission Guidelines for Court Opinions.

Legislative History Resources

Massachusetts Law Reform Institute
The following are some helpful links for tracing Massachusetts and Federal Legislative History: Guide to Tracing a Massachusetts Law:  The State Library of Massachusetts has developed this on-line resource guide to tracing the legislative history of Massachusetts laws. It contains many…

Massachusetts Litigation Resources App

Suffolk Institute on Law Practice and Technology
This handy free app is brought to you by Suffolk University Law School's Institute on Law Practice Technology and Innovation. The App gives you direct access to a variety of useful litigation resources, including court rules and information, right from your mobile device or tablet. Click…

Mass211

United Way and MAIRS
A comprehensive database of human services resources in Massachusetts.  You can call, chat with or use the online directory to get referrals and resources for  emergency food, rent, help paying your heating and utility bills, mental health counseling, health…

DataTown, Massachusetts: Town Level Massachusetts Data

Massachusetts Housing Partnership's Center for Housing Data
This interactive web site compiles community-level information from various available data sources for all 351 Massachusetts cities and towns, and visualizes that data in graphics and charts so it's easy to understand, print out and bring to a community discussion.  Click "go to…

DTA Connect - apply for SNAP, get case information, or send documents to DTA!

MLRI
What is DTA Connect? DTA Connect is DTA’s mobile app and online portal to see case information for people who have applied for or get DTA benefits. DTA Connect.com also has an online SNAP application.   DTA Connect services are a great way for low income households and community…

Data & Race: How Data Can Help Advance Racial Justice

Peter Ciurczak, Boston Indicators
Slideshow presentation on how analyzing racial data can help to advance racial justice by Peter Ciurczak, Research Analyst for Boston Indicators.

What's in the Blue Envelope for People Turning 65

MassHealth
MassHealth is in the process of renewing eligibility for all its 2.4 million members during the one year period from April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024. If eligibility can't be renewed through data matching, beneficiaries will be sent a blue envelope with a notice dated April 1, 2023 or later to be…

LGBTQ Youth Rights - Foster Care

GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders
Know your rights -- click the "Go to Website" link below to visit the foster section of GLAD's website for LGBTQ youth in New England.

Racial Justice Training for CLAVC

Virginia Benzan, MLRI
On June 23, 2023 MLRI's Director of Racial Justice Advocacy lead the CLAVC staff in the first of a Racial Justice for CLAVC series. The training was held in person at MLRI's new offices with a remote option for those unable to attend in person. The conversation was not recorded,…

The Perils of Black Leadership

Cyndi Suarez
This article highlights the key characteristics of the Black leadership experience: (1) the fact that Black leaders tend to get appointed in times of crisis, (2) that Black leaders tend to be prepared for these opportunities, (3) that their authority is overwhelmingly contested, (4) and that a core…