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Unemployment Insurance Information Related to COVID-19 as Massachusetts "re-opens"

Employment Rights Coalition
Massachusetts employers whose businesses were closed because of COVID-19 are now being allowed to reopen under an order by Governor Baker. This fact sheet provides information about how the re-opening may affect the ongoing UI eligibility of recipients who lost their jobs for COVID-19 related…

Microaggressions: What to Know and How to Navigate Them

JustLead Washington and REJI
On-Demand Webinar

Governor's Revised FY 2021 Budget Proposal: MLRI's Preliminary Analysis of Selected Issues

MLRI
The Governor’s Revised FY 2021 Budget Proposal: Preliminary Analysis of Key Issues Affecting Low-Income Massachusetts Residents. Last week Governor Baker released a revised House 2, his budget proposal for fiscal year 2021 (FY 21), which was originally released in January before the…

FAQ: SNAP Benefits and Job Loss during COVID-19

MLRI
Attached is a two page flier, in English and Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, and Chinese about SNAP benefits for workers who lost work due to COVID-19. This flier is up to date as of 2020 - specific information may no longer be relevant.  See MassLegalServices.org/DTA-COVID-19…

Building Legal-Community Partnerships

JustLead Washington
Building accountability with the clients and communities we serve is critical to ensure the work of civil legal aid organizations is responsive, dynamic, and aligned with the interests of those who are most affected by poverty, racism, and other forms of structural oppression. This guide aims to lay…

Systems Thinking & The Iceberg Model

Just Lead Washington and Washington Race Equity & Justice Initiative
The Iceberg Model is useful to unpack the underlying causes that lead to an acute event or issue. Events, trends, and patterns are above the waterline; what we see the most and are most familiar with. Structures are below the surface – they give shape to how everything is arranged, situated, and…

Black lawyers explain the problem with microaggressions in the legal space

Raad Ahmed
We’ve extensively covered the legal industry’s shortcomings in creating and sustaining a diverse workforce for the last several months. On a recent Law.com panel, several Black attorneys described another issue: microaggressions, which the attorneys described as daily comments…

Safe and Brave Spaces Don’t Work (and What You Can Do Instead)

Elise Ahenkorah
When engaging individuals from racialized or equity-deserving communities, organizations will often share promises of “safe and brave” spaces to encourage inclusive discussion, and for allies to learn from experiences different from their own. We can probably stop making those promises…

Bridging the Opportunity Gap for Black Lawyers

Roy Maurer
Data show that Black attorneys account for less than 5 percent of associates and less than 2 percent of partners at law firms. Those stats have stayed about the same over the last decade. This article talks about ways to narrow the opportunity gap.

“Racism as a public health issue” APS racism series: at the intersection of equity, science, and social justice

Joseph L. Wright, James N. Jarvis, Lee M. Pachter & Leslie R. Walker-Harding
The social unrest of the past several months highlights the importance of ensuring that science and fact-based objectivity align with the public discourse. A deepening body of literature makes clear the historical association of bias, discrimination, and injustice on Black, indigenous, and people of…

The Other Side of the Water: Immigration and the Promise of Racial Justice (podcast)

RES Media
From the introduction to the series: The Other Side of the Water: Immigration and the Promise of Racial Justice is a six-episode series discussing the intersection of immigration and racial justice. The series centers the 1985 US Supreme Court case Jean v. Nelson, a case about the racial…

The Digital Divide Hits U.S. Immigrant Households Disproportionately during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Alexis Cherewka, Migration Policy Institute

The Problem with Implicit Bias Training

Tiffany L. Green, Nao Hagiwara, Scientific American
Opinion article about the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of implicit bias to change behaviour meaningfully.

Why Disaggregating Data by Race is Important for Racial Equity

The Annie E. Casey Foundation
Blog post on disaggregating data and presenting it in a meaningful way can help bring attention and commitment to the solving of social and racial equity problems.

About One-in-Four U.S. Hispanics Have Heard of Latinx, but Just 3% Use It

LUIS NOE-BUSTAMANTE, LAUREN MORA AND MARK HUGO LOPEZ
The Pew Research Center report. The emergence of Latinx coincides with a global movement to introduce gender-neutral nouns and pronouns into many languages whose grammar has traditionally used male or female constructions. In the United States, the first uses of Latinx appeared more…

Tapping into the Power of Metaphors

The FrameWorks Institute
And because metaphors give us a new mental framework for thinking and talking about a topic, they can open up dead-end conversations and repetitive debates. Using metaphor can help us advance ideas and avoid wasting energy by rebutting talking points that halt progressive change. Metaphors are…

Race Equity Culture Continuum for Organizations

Race Equity Justice Institute - Just Lead Washington & Washington Race Equity & Justice Initiative
Tool to understand where an organization’s starting point might be and illustrates the developmental stages towards committing to, demonstrating and delivering on the promise of Race Equity and Justice

Organizational Assessment

JustLead Washington - Race Equity Justice Initiative
The REJI Organizational Assessment is designed for any organization interested in gathering information, regardless of how far along it might be on the journey to becoming a more racially equitable organization. 

Organizational Race Equity Toolkit

Just Lead Washington
Recognizing how the law and justice system is complicit in perpetuating white supremacy necessitates taking steps to dismantle that complicity. As REJI continues to evolve, it has become a resource for REJI Partners and advocates to build alignment between racial justice values and internal policies…

‘Black Women Need to Unlearn the Pattern of Martyrdom’

Christina M. Trapper for ZORA
Activist Adrienne Maree Brown discusses how to make revolution irresistible and what Black liberation looks like for Black women. "I think Black women need to unlearn the pattern of martyrdom. The pattern that says we must always overwork ourselves to consider ourselves even showing up…

Frequently Asked Questions on PUA for Students

GBLS
Please see the attached FAQ 

You’ve Been Called Out for a Microaggression. What Do You Do?

Rebecca Knight, Harvard Business Review
From the summary to the article: As a person who wants to be an ally to members of marginalized groups, how should you respond after a colleague calls you out for committing a microaggression? First, make sure the other person feels heard. Replace your instinctive defensiveness with curiosity and…

Health Connector Updates- MA Health Care Training Forum Materials

Health Connector
Attached is a powerpoint presentation that the Health Connector presented at the July 2020 MA Health Care Training Forum (MTF) meeting regarding Health Connector updates. It describes the most recent COVID-19 related changes, the Health Connector's transition to a new customer…

July 23 MTF Announcement: 1. MassHealth Buy In & 2. Telephonic authorizations

MassHealth
This is an MTF announcement dated July 23, 2020 about two policy updates: 1. Correcting a system error affecting the Jan 1, 2020 expansion of the Medicare Savings Program (Senior Buy-In/Buy-In Programs). and 2. a June 29, 2020 change in policy authorizing applicants and members to complete a…

Nice White Parents

NY Times
A new five-part series about building a better school system, and what gets in the way. Looks at the 60-year relationship between White parents and the public school down the block.

What Is Abolition, And Why Do We Need It?

Reina Sultan and Micah Herskind
In the midst of nationwide uprisings against ongoing police murders of Black people, a new set of demands has been thrust into public consciousness: Defund and abolish the police, and invest in new models of safety and communal well-being. Rather than ask for better…

The State Of Race

GBH and The Boston Globe
The State Of Race is a series of virtual forums examining race and inequality in Massachusetts, presented by GBH and The Boston Globe. Hosted by award-winning journalist Dan Lothian, this ongoing series is produced in partnership with the NAACP Boston Branch and WORLD Channel. Stay tuned for future…

Changing Our Narrative about Narrative: The Infrastructure Required for Building Narrative Power

Rashad Robinson
Narrative is now a big buzzword in the field of social change. That is more a testament to people wanting to understand narrative, however, than it is a testament to people actually understanding it. Evaluating our overall approach to narrative, as well as the specific narrative changes we have…

IMCO Comments Opposing Asylum Regulations July 2020

MLRI
The Massachusetts Law Reform Institute (MLRI) respectfully submits this comment on behalf of the Immigration Coalition (IMCO) of the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, which consists of the 14 regional legal aid programs in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, including Greater Boston Legal Services,…

A Psychiatrist’s Perspective on Racism: 2020

Rahn K. Bailey, MD
What makes an individual racist? Carl Bell, MD,3 described these individuals having a psychopathological defect/narcissistic personality disorder which allows for dehumanization of others. Other psychiatrists have opined that racism may meet the criteria for a full psychotic…

Why some Americans seem more ‘American’ than others

Katherine Kinzler
In the United States and many other countries, nationality is defined by a set of legal parameters. It may involve birthplace, parental citizenship or a circumscribed set of procedures for naturalization. Yet, in many Americans’ minds, these more objective notions of citizenship are a…

Qualified Renters Need Not Apply: Race and Voucher Discrimination in the Metro Boston Rental Housing Market

The Boston Foundation, Suffolk University, Analysis Group
Part of the Understanding Boston series, this field study offers further evidence of the entrenchment of discrimination and the unequal application of rights, with its close examination of Boston’s rental housing practices.

Structural Racism in American Psychiatry and APA: Part 1

Jeffrey Geller, M.D., M.P.H.
The history of American psychiatry and the history of Black Americans is the history of slavery and segregation in America for over 200 years, right on through the end of the Civil War; the passage of the 14th and 15th Amendments; the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which included a provision for equal…

Restructure Your Organization to Actually Advance Racial Justice

Evelyn R. Carter
Organizations want to both support their Black employees and upskill their workforce around racism, bias, and inclusivity in ways that are unprecedented. What should come next? Companies can do a few virtual trainings then default back to the status quo — or they can recognize that the racial bias…

What Research Tells Us About the Psychology of Racism

Devon Frye
A new review takes a broad look at hows and whys of racism in American society.  

The Microaggressions Towards Black Women You Might Be Complicit In At Work

Bianca Barratt, The Forbes Magazine
From the article: A discussion that has gained more attention over the last few weeks of the Black Lives Matter movement is that white women, despite belonging to a widely marginalized gender group, are also often marginalizers themselves in their continual reticence and apathy towards the fight…

Material to support advocacy for CARES Act rental assistance

Various
  General Information on CARES Act programs HUD CPD CARES Act grants to Mass. HUD Exchange Grants to Mass.   All CARES Allocations   https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/comm_planning/budget/fy20    HUD Exchange cover page for…

How to Use Zoom With Interpreting

Transcend
Because of the coronavirus, many meetings are now on Zoom. If you are meeting with someone who speaks another language, you can use Zoom with Interpreting.  Download one page guides, in English and Spanish, from Transcend's website.

Ibram X. Kendi defines what it means to be an antiracist

Ibram X. Kendi
In this extract from his 2019 book How To Be an Antiracist, historian Ibram X. Kendi breaks down exactly what the term means – and why clear language is a vital first step in the battle against prejudice.

Remote Hearings

Various
Resources related to best practices for remote hearings. National Housing Law Project compilation -- includes Michigan State Administrative Office of Courts National Institute for Trial Advocacy OntarioAdvocates Society of Ont Florida Supreme Court Texas Courts Minnesota…

Working with clients remotely

various
Links to materials with guidance and suggestions regarding working with clients remotely. Best practices for providing legal aid and working remotely -- Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project Remote Legal Support Guide  -- ProBonoNet

Anti-Racist Resources

Greater Good Magazine
In response to the killing of unarmed Black people by police, Greater Good gathered Greater Good pieces that explore our potential to reduce prejudice in society and in ourselves. Includes the following sections: –The psychological roots of racism –How to overcome bias in…

First, Listen. Then, Learn: Anti-Racism Resources For White People

Julia Wuench, Forbes Magazine
For white people in America, it is up to each of us to first listen. Then, we must seek greater knowledge about our country’s deeply rooted racism. It is an undue burden on our colleagues and friends of color to teach us about racism and do the mental work for us. For white people who are…

The Psychology of American Racism

Steven O. Roberts and Michael Rizzo
American racism is alive and well. In this essay, we amass a large body of classic and contemporary research across multiple areas of psychology (e.g., cognitive, developmental, social), as well as the broader social sciences (e.g., sociology, communication studies, public policy), and humanities…

Walk in My Shoes: A Day in the Life of a Black Woman Attorney

Danielle Johnson
Article on the experiences of a Black female attorney in housing court.  

Virtual Q and A for Massachusetts Community Advocates on Protective Orders and Family Law Questions During Covid Pandemic

various
On May 27, 2020, the Massachusetts Access to Justice Commission sponsored a virtual question and answer session for community advocates in Massachusetts about protective orders, family law questions, and accessing Massachusetts courts for protective orders and family law help during the COVID-19…

Worker Centers in Massachusetts

Jobs with Justice
Worker Centers in Massachusetts (a non-exhaustive list) Worker centers are community-based organizations that provide, among many things, organizing support for low wage workers. They are often the only support/friend/ally that immigrant workers have, especially recent arrivals. Worker…

Closing language barriers and the digital divide in Gateway Cities

MassInc Gateways Podcast
First, Dan Noyes, co-CEO of Tech Goes Home, describes lessons from his experience working to close the digital divide. His Boston-based nonprofit provides training, devices, and internet access to low-income families, students, and the elderly, who need these tools now more than…

OLGT 2020-31A: Cross Programs: Clarifications to Unemployment and Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation Benefits

DTA
On March 18, 2020, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act was signed into law. This legislation contains provisions for traditional unemployment assistance benefits and other types of unemployment assistance benefits.

MassHealth Training Forum April 2020 Materials

MassHealth & Health Connector
This website contains materials from the April 2020 MassHealth Training Forum --Powerpoint presentations covering the major COVID-19 related changes over the last 2 months including slides from MassHealth addressing the MassHealth termination moratorium; verifying eligibility by self-attestions,…