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.”
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says it’s “disgraceful and demeaning” that a Halifax-area school would request that service members not wear military uniforms to its Remembrance Day ceremony.
Houston’s comments were part of a chorus of criticism levelled at the school — Sackville Heights Elementary — whose administration decided to back away from the plan after the outcry.
A November newsletter from the school in Middle Sackville, N.S., invited Armed Forces members to attend its ceremony but asked that all attendees arrive in civilian attire to “maintain a welcoming environment for all.”
Houston, who is currently running for re-election, accused the school’s leaders of “disgracing themselves while demeaning the people who protect our country” in a post on the social media platform X Thursday night.
“If the people behind this decision had a shred of the courage that our veterans have, this cowardly and insulting idea would have been rejected immediately,” Houston’s post read. There were also several calls for resignations within the school’s administration attached to Houston’s post.
In an email to families Thursday night, the school’s principal, Rachael Webster, apologized and welcomed military family members to attend “in the attire that makes them most comfortable.”
“I recognize this request has caused harm and I am deeply sorry,” Webster’s email read, adding later that the school has the “utmost respect for what the uniform represents.”
Webster said the initial request was out of concern for some students who come from countries experiencing conflict and who she said expressed discomfort with images of war, including military uniforms.
Her email said any students who have concerns about seeing Armed Forces members in uniform can be accommodated in a way that makes them feel safe, but she provided no further details in the message.
Webster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
At a news conference Friday, Houston said he’s glad the initial request was reversed but said he is still concerned.
“I can’t actually fathom how a decision like that was made,” Houston told reporters Friday, adding that he grew up moving between military bases around the country while his father was in the Armed Forces.
“My story of growing up in a military family is not unique in our province. The tradition of service is something so many of us share,” he said.
“Saying ‘lest we forget’ is a solemn promise to the fallen. It’s our commitment to those that continue to serve and our commitment that we will pass on our respects to the next generation.”
Liberal Leader Zach Churchill also said he’s happy with the school’s decision to allow uniformed Armed Forces members to attend the ceremony, but he said he didn’t think it was fair to question the intentions of those behind the original decision.
“We need to have them (uniforms) on display at Remembrance Day,” he said. “Not only are we celebrating (veterans) … we’re also commemorating our dead who gave the greatest sacrifice for our country and for the freedoms we have.”
NDP Leader Claudia Chender said that while Remembrance Day is an important occasion to honour veterans and current service members’ sacrifices, she said she hopes Houston wasn’t taking advantage of the decision to “play politics with this solemn occasion for his own political gain.”
“I hope Tim Houston reached out to the principal of the school before making a public statement,” she said in a statement.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
REGINA – Saskatchewan Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck says she wants to prove to residents her party is the government in waiting as she heads into the incoming legislative session.
Beck held her first caucus meeting with 27 members, nearly double than what she had before the Oct. 28 election but short of the 31 required to form a majority in the 61-seat legislature.
She says her priorities will be health care and cost-of-living issues.
Beck says people need affordability help right now and will press Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government to cut the gas tax and the provincial sales tax on children’s clothing and some grocery items.
Beck’s NDP is Saskatchewan’s largest Opposition in nearly two decades after sweeping Regina and winning all but one seat in Saskatoon.
The Saskatchewan Party won 34 seats, retaining its hold on all of the rural ridings and smaller cities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia‘s growing population was the subject of debate on Day 12 of the provincial election campaign, with Liberal Leader Zach Churchill arguing immigration levels must be reduced until the province can provide enough housing and health-care services.
Churchill said Thursday a plan by the incumbent Progressive Conservatives to double the province’s population to two million people by the year 2060 is unrealistic and unsustainable.
“That’s a big leap and it’s making life harder for people who live here, (including ) young people looking for a place to live and seniors looking to downsize,” he told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
Anticipating that his call for less immigration might provoke protests from the immigrant community, Churchill was careful to note that he is among the third generation of a family that moved to Nova Scotia from Lebanon.
“I know the value of immigration, the importance of it to our province. We have been built on the backs of an immigrant population. But we just need to do it in a responsible way.”
The Liberal leader said Tim Houston’s Tories, who are seeking a second term in office, have made a mistake by exceeding immigration targets set by the province’s Department of Labour and Immigration. Churchill said a Liberal government would abide by the department’s targets.
In the most recent fiscal year, the government welcomed almost 12,000 immigrants through its nominee program, exceeding the department’s limit by more than 4,000, he said. The numbers aren’t huge, but the increase won’t help ease the province’s shortages in housing and doctors, and the increased strain on its infrastructure, including roads, schools and cellphone networks, Churchill said.
“(The Immigration Department) has done the hard work on this,” he said. “They know where the labour gaps are, and they know what growth is sustainable.”
In response, Houston said his commitment to double the population was a “stretch goal.” And he said the province had long struggled with a declining population before that trend was recently reversed.
“The only immigration that can come into this province at this time is if they are a skilled trade worker or a health-care worker,” Houston said. “The population has grown by two per cent a year, actually quite similar growth to what we experienced under the Liberal government before us.”
Still, Houston said he’s heard Nova Scotians’ concerns about population growth, and he then pivoted to criticize Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for trying to send 6,000 asylum seekers to Nova Scotia, an assertion the federal government has denied.
Churchill said Houston’s claim about asylum seekers was shameful.
“It’s smoke and mirrors,” the Liberal leader said. “He is overshooting his own department’s numbers for sustainable population growth and yet he is trying to blame this on asylum seekers … who aren’t even here.”
In September, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said there is no plan to send any asylum seekers to the province without compensation or the consent of the premier. He said the 6,000 number was an “aspirational” figure based on models that reflect each province’s population.
In Halifax, NDP Leader Claudia Chender said it’s clear Nova Scotia needs more doctors, nurses and skilled trades people.
“Immigration has been and always will be a part of the Nova Scotia story, but we need to build as we grow,” Chender said. “This is why we have been pushing the Houston government to build more affordable housing.”
Chender was in a Halifax cafe on Thursday when she promised her party would remove the province’s portion of the harmonized sales tax from all grocery, cellphone and internet bills if elected to govern on Nov. 26. The tax would also be removed from the sale and installation of heat pumps.
“Our focus is on helping people to afford their lives,” Chender told reporters. “We know there are certain things that you can’t live without: food, internet and a phone …. So we know this will have the single biggest impact.”
The party estimates the measure would save the average Nova Scotia family about $1,300 a year.
“That’s a lot more than a one or two per cent HST cut,” Chender said, referring to the Progressive Conservative pledge to reduce the tax by one percentage point and the Liberal promise to trim it by two percentage points.
Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Houston announced that a Progressive Conservative government would make parking free at all Nova Scotia hospitals and health-care centres. The promise was also made by the Liberals in their election platform released Monday.
“Free parking may not seem like a big deal to some, but … the parking, especially for people working at the facilities, can add up to hundreds of dollars,” the premier told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
