For political strategist and activist Wilnelia Rivera, growing up in Lawrence, Mass., made her witness each day to the realities of injustice, and at the same time it gave her the experience of persistent hope.
Rivera brought both—the understanding of injustice and that continuing hopefulness—to her virtual audience at Tufts on Feb. 17. The occasion was her recognition as the inaugural recipient of the Lyon and Bendheim Citizenship Award from the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life.
Rivera, A04, AG14, is the founder and president of Rivera Consulting, Inc., a strategist consulting firm for movement-building and policy-driven causes, candidates, and organizations. After earning her undergraduate degree from Tufts, she worked with Neighbor to Neighbor, where she helped reform the Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) system, making it illegal for employers to ask about a person’s criminal history on an initial job application in Massachusetts, and assisted in the push for the city of Lynn to invest in interpreters and translation services for non-English-speaking parents and a more inclusive environment for LGBTQ students.
As a political strategist, Rivera was instrumental in helping to elect Deval Patrick as Massachusetts’ first Black governor—and Ayanna Pressley as a U.S. congresswoman after a groundbreaking primary victory against a 10-term Democratic incumbent.
During the hour-long Tufts event, Rivera characterized the role of organizers and activists as “hold[ing] the moral arc of what’s possible . . . no matter what the congressional cycle says, no matter what the election cycle says,” she said. “They’re going to hold on to that and we need that. We need people in society that are going to hold on to the most important values of justice of who we should be as a country.”
Rivera also offered insights about what’s missing in our democracy and how we can reclaim it, her responsibility to those on whose behalf she advocates, and the key to effecting change in politics. (Watch the talk here.) Here are three takeaways from the discussion, which was moderated by Kalimah Knight, deputy director of media relations at Tufts.
Politics is only moveable when movement comes in. The best advice Rivera ever received? “When we’re in the building—whatever the building is—our job is to make it possible.” But Rivera has pushed that advice still further: “So, I would say, ‘Well, OK, I can do that. But what if we have a movement that changes what’s possible?’ And how do these two things speak to one another so that it’s actually more coordinated and we’re not just screaming and having a fight about all of our differences, yet not really making progress where it matters the most—in the buildings where laws and rules of engagement are made every day?”
From her time spent in both the electoral and the activist spaces, she has learned that “politics is only movable when movement comes in.” As a timely example, she offered the call to defund the police as an opportunity for Black Lives Matter to draw attention to “something that, for hundreds of years, we’ve been trying to get more attention on. It now creates the opportunity for politics to be possible.” She also called for finding common ground around urgency. “We spend too much time saying, ‘My thing is more urgent than yours,’” she said, and not focusing enough on developing a shared understanding of what’s urgent for both parties.
The power of a new kind of conversation—and listening. Presented with a question about the tension between individuals involved in electoral politics and those with an activist perspective, Rivera saw reason for hope. It’s a question, she observed, that has become more popular in the past two years: “That’s an important indication of the recognition that organizing and politics actually do exist in the same democracy.” Further, instead of thinking about our democracy as we see it today, she encouraged attendees to consider ways in which they have begun to see evidence of both electoral politics and movement actors starting to work together around the country.
Rivera also invited a reframing of this tension as “discomfort” resulting from a multiracial society in which there is no single identity. She encouraged the audience to consider the politics of difference and the strategies that we must learn to be able to address that discomfort. She offered a framework of self-reflection—of asking yourself, “Why am I uncomfortable? What do I have to learn from this?”—as a means to open up a “new conversation.”
Even if you are in dialogue with the same people, including people with whom you are going to continue to have differences, that self-reflection about your discomfort can enable you to really listen, she said. “That’s the core of what’s missing in our democracy and our society: We don’t know how to listen to one another,” she observed. “We can do campaigns; we can write press releases; we can do all the different tactical things… but the art of the conversation with each other is falling by the wayside.”
People matter—and so do money, power, and systems. Rivera cited a valuable lesson from her early days in community organizing and outreach work—one that she offers to activists and change agents today: People matter. But that’s not enough. She said, “What I learned from those early years is that power matters, money matters, and systems matter . . . and how they interact with one another ultimately dictates the conditions for what’s possible or not.” She encouraged her audience to carefully consider those interactions as part of their organizing and outreach so that they can actively move the work forward.
With this understanding, she said, comes an obligation to those with whom she works. “I’m usually inviting people . . . to give up a part of their everyday life to something that’s bigger than them,” she said. “And I feel it’s my responsibility to be knowledgeable on power, money, and systems so that I can create a baseline of understanding for why it’s going to be tough, for why it’s going to take a long time.”
In addition to that forthrightness with her partners in activism, she is also committed to giving people the opportunity to consider, “’Do I want to be a part of this?’” She terms that responsibility “a moral compass” for activism and organizing—and “an integrity that frames and drives everything” she does.
The Lyon and Bendheim Citizenship Award is the successor to the Lyon and Bendheim Alumni Lecture Series. That series was initially established by J.B. Lyon, A85, and Tom Bendheim, A85, to bring to campus prominent alumni—often leaders from the private sector. The new award, of which Rivera is the inaugural recipient, is intended to recognize individuals who have shown a commitment to civic engagement through successful initiatives, creative solutions, or bold leadership and to connect them with students and alumni on campus.
At the start of the Feb. 17 program, Bendheim spoke on his own behalf and Lyon’s about the original lecture series and its rededication as the new award. “We’re really proud of all the business leaders that we brought to campus,” he said. “But times change . . . and we wanted to broaden our focus and expand the opportunities for Tufts students to connect with leaders across the professional and civic spectrum who are making a difference. We couldn’t imagine a more deserving recipient for this new award than Wilnelia Rivera . . . someone who exemplifies how to pursue political change and having a lasting systemic impact.”
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he will not be taking advice from Pierre Poilievre after the Conservative leader challenged him to bring down government.
“I say directly to Pierre Poilievre: I’m not going to listen to you,” said Singh on Wednesday, accusing Poilievre of wanting to take away dental-care coverage from Canadians, among other things.
“I’m not going to listen to your advice. You want to destroy people’s lives, I want to build up a brighter future.”
Earlier in the day, Poilievre challenged Singh to commit to voting non-confidence in the government, saying his party will force a vote in the House of Commons “at the earliest possibly opportunity.”
“I’m asking Jagmeet Singh and the NDP to commit unequivocally before Monday’s byelections: will they vote non-confidence to bring down the costly coalition and trigger a carbon tax election, or will Jagmeet Singh sell out Canadians again?” Poilievre said.
“It’s put up or shut up time for the NDP.”
While Singh rejected the idea he would ever listen to Poilievre, he did not say how the NDP would vote on a non-confidence motion.
“I’ve said on any vote, we’re going to look at the vote and we’ll make our decision. I’m not going to say our decision ahead of time,” he said.
Singh’s top adviser said on Tuesday the NDP leader is not particularly eager to trigger an election, even as the Conservatives challenge him to do just that.
Anne McGrath, Singh’s principal secretary, says there will be more volatility in Parliament and the odds of an early election have risen.
“I don’t think he is anxious to launch one, or chomping at the bit to have one, but it can happen,” she said in an interview.
New Democrat MPs are in a second day of meetings in Montreal as they nail down a plan for how to navigate the minority Parliament this fall.
The caucus retreat comes one week after Singh announced the party has left the supply-and-confidence agreement with the governing Liberals.
It’s also taking place in the very city where New Democrats are hoping to pick up a seat on Monday, when voters go to the polls in Montreal’s LaSalle—Émard—Verdun. A second byelection is being held that day in the Winnipeg riding of Elmwood—Transcona, where the NDP is hoping to hold onto a seat the Conservatives are also vying for.
While New Democrats are seeking to distance themselves from the Liberals, they don’t appear ready to trigger a general election.
Singh signalled on Tuesday that he will have more to say Wednesday about the party’s strategy for the upcoming sitting.
He is hoping to convince Canadians that his party can defeat the federal Conservatives, who have been riding high in the polls over the last year.
Singh has attacked Poilievre as someone who would bring back Harper-style cuts to programs that Canadians rely on, including the national dental-care program that was part of the supply-and-confidence agreement.
The Canadian Press has asked Poilievre’s office whether the Conservative leader intends to keep the program in place, if he forms government after the next election.
With the return of Parliament just days away, the NDP is also keeping in mind how other parties will look to capitalize on the new makeup of the House of Commons.
The Bloc Québécois has already indicated that it’s written up a list of demands for the Liberals in exchange for support on votes.
The next federal election must take place by October 2025 at the latest.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante is defending her decision to turn off comments on her social media accounts — with an announcement on social media.
She posted screenshots to X this morning of vulgar names she’s been called on the platform, and says comments on her posts for months have been dominated by insults, to the point that she decided to block them.
Montreal’s Opposition leader and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association have criticized Plante for limiting freedom of expression by restricting comments on her X and Instagram accounts.
They say elected officials who use social media should be willing to hear from constituents on those platforms.
However, Plante says some people may believe there is a fundamental right to call someone offensive names and to normalize violence online, but she disagrees.
Her statement on X is closed to comments.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
