Today on Boston Public Radio:
Michelle Singletary discussed “Sincerely Michelle,” her ongoing series for The Washington Post addressing misconceptions about racial equity in the world of personal finance, and reflected on her own experience coming up in media as a Black woman. Singletary is a personal finance columnist for The Washington Post and author of “The 21 Day Financial Fast." Her column "The Color Of Money" is syndicated in newspapers across the country.
Chuck Todd ran through the latest political headlines, touching on an anticipated COVID-19 stimulus bill in Congress, President-elect Joe Biden’s undying faith in the Senate and the slowly-growing number of GOP members willing to acknowledge Biden’s November election victory. Todd is the moderator of “Meet The Press” on NBC, host of “Meet The Press Daily" on MSNBC and the political director for NBC News.
Councilor Andrea Campbell discussed the Boston City Council’s Sunday evening vote to establish an Office of Police Accountability and Transparency and next steps for its implementation. She also touched on Gov. Charlie Baker's decision not to sign the Massaschusetts police reform bill and spoke about pushback against a proposed charter school in Roslindale. Campbell represents Boston's District 4, which includes parts of Dorchester, Mattapan, Jamaica Plain and Roslindale. She's also currently running for mayor of Boston.
Andrea Cabral discussed Georgia’s legacy of voter suppression and what she anticipates from the state’s Senate runoffs in January. She also talked about efforts by the outgoing Trump administration to appoint a special council to investigate Biden’s son Hunter and the president's still-unsubstantiated claims of vote rigging during the 2020 election. Cabral is the former Suffolk County sheriff and secretary of public safety and the current CEO of Ascend.
Paul Reville discussed the Boston Teachers Union’s Sunday evening vote of no confidence against BPS Superintendent Brenda Cassellius, ongoing issues with remote learning throughout Massachusetts and questions around whether schools ought to keep the snow day alive through the pandemic. Reville is the former Massachusetts secretary of education and a professor at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education, where he also heads the Education Redesign Lab. His latest book, co-authored with Elaine Weiss, is "Broader, Bolder, Better: How Schools And Communities Help Students Overcome The Disadvantages Of Poverty.”
Next, we opened up the phone lines to talk about Thursday’s snowstorm, asking, are school districts walking on thin ice by denying students a well-earned snow day?
Richard Blanco returned for our monthly edition of "The Village Voice," where he discusses poetry and how it can help us better understand our lives and times. This time around, he read a selection of poems about gratitude, renewal and healing. He also talked about the Inaugural Poem Project and Contest for Students. Blanco is the fifth presidential inaugural poet in U.S. history. His new book, "How To Love A Country," deals with various socio-political issues that shadow America.
