#BlackLivesMatter in Boston, TIKKUN, and an Insider's View on a State House Legislative Briefing
Mariel Ehrlich, 5775 RYFTI Senior Co-President
The unjust
and disturbingly recent murders of Michael Brown and Eric Garner have sent much
of America into turmoil, as people grapple for an opportunity to change the
rampant injustices that are still present in our society. On the night of
Tuesday, November 25th I attended the “Indict America” rally hosted
by the non-profit group Black Lives Matter, with fellow RYFTI members
(Charlotte Borden, Talia Putnoi and Ada Levine). It was incredible to witness so many
different people coming together around an issue that not only disproportionately
targets young, black men in America but which plagues the entire country as
every person is affected by the many intersections of all forms of oppression.
I stood in Dudley Square for a moment of silence, passed vigil candles among
the strangers surrounding me, sang songs of respect and hope, chanted “No
Justice! No Peace! No Racist Police!,” and finally marched through the streets
of Boston. The night was incredibly moving and inspiring, because I knew there
were thousands of people beside me, all of whom have entered the same fight to
end racial oppression.
After being
a part of the collective voice of countless citizens of Massachusetts, I had
the opportunity to see how action is being taking at the state level to address
the problems of police brutality and racial profiling in Massachusetts. During
RYFTI’s fall semester at Temple Israel, I took a social justice action course
called “TIKKUN” at Monday Night School. TIKKUN culminated with a trip to the
State House, where each teen participating in the course met with their local
state senators and representatives to lobby on behalf of issues we are passionate
about. This MNS elective showed me that the legislation in Massachusetts is
important to become involved in, because I have the voice of a constituent who
can influence the issues my local leaders choose to address. Through this
lobbying experience, I was invited back to the State House to attend a briefing,
as an honorary member of the staff of my state senator, Sonia Chang-Diaz, on
Wednesday, December 17th. At the briefing, Boston leadership of the
NAACP and ALCU, and State Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz addressed three new bill proposals
that may be introduced in the upcoming legislation session in light of the
recent events in our nation. These bills discuss the availability of data
regarding racial profiling, potential body cameras for police and continuing to
promote a police force that should reflect the racial composition of our city.
It was so interesting to witness politicians, non-profit organizations and
interested individuals from all across the political spectrum taking the time
to ask each other questions and learn from one another. The fact that so many
influential people worked hard to attend this meeting truly demonstrates how
important this issue is to our society and the great lengths and efforts people
will contribute to affect change.
Experiencing
the responses to injustice in America both on the ground and in the State House,
it is clear that the actions taken by those today may finally stand a chance at
significantly affecting the future of our country and creating beneficial
change.
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