Boston Debate League's Race, Equity, & Policy Series Spring Forum on Economic Justice

The Boston Debate League’s Race, Equity, and Policy (REP) Series aims to facilitate and amplify critical discourse across the City of Boston by exploring how policy intersects with race and equity as it relates to issues impacting our communities.  This year’s REP Series Spring Forum will create an opportunity for healthy debate around a topic that is relevant and timely in our community, and one that Boston Debate League debaters explored over the last year: economic justice. As noted in a 2015 report by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, the median net worth of white families in Boston is $247,500, while the median net worth of Black families is just $8. The COVID-19 pandemic widened that racial wealth gap even further. Through this conversation, a multi-generational learning community of students, educators, leaders, experts, and change makers will investigate this pressing issue from multiple perspectives, surface implications for the broader community, and explore solutions.

Moderator:

• Diti Kohli, Boston Globe Business Reporter and producer of the Bozton GenZ video series

Panelists:

• Dr. Thomas Shapiro, Research Professor, The Heller School for Social Policy, Brandeis University
• Angela Brown, Chief of Economic Development, Metropolitan Area Planning Council
• Gabriel Ponce Lemus, High School Senior, Boston Debate League debater

Join panelists at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute as they share their deep expertise, experiences, and perspectives on the topic of economic justice and weigh in on potential solutions by responding to the Forum prompt: Which policy change would make the biggest difference to promote wealth equity in Boston?