B-Change

On June 16 Marcy and I zoomed down to Manhattan to participate in a dialogue about positive psychology and social justice, one of the central themes of the B-Change podcast. Our conversation highlights the very timely need to connect positive practices — such as focusing on strengths, practicing meditation, expressing gratitude — with systemic social change.

• How social justice leaders can use the tools of positive psychology to be more effective and resilient during difficult times.

Jessie Norriss joined Mutual Aid of Medford and Somerville (MAMAS) on March 12, 2020, just as the coronavirus pandemic began and when the group was barely a week old. MAMAS, like other mutual aid societies that popped up around the country at that time, played an essential role in the collection and distribution of needed goods and services like food, rent, language interpretation, and transportation.

• How the volunteers at MAMAS were able to quickly set up a structure that could respond to many needs of the communities that MAMAS worked with.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Is it healthy for an organization to have leadership centralized in one person — the executive director? Is leadership development “one size fits all”?

Sheerine recommended two resources:

When a hurricane or tropical storm hits Texas, Tomas Aguilar wants the immigrant residents he works with to be effectively organized to withstand the storms. The Living Hope Wheelchair Association where he works seeks to make sure that immigrants of limited means can be protected and that they have a voice in public policy that will improve the chances for their survival in the future.

Growing up in Mattapan, a neighborhood on the southern tip of Boston that today comprises predominantly people of color, Allentza Michel didn’t know that urban planning was even a potential field of study for her. Yet, she felt its impacts every day: a history of redlining, segregation, and, more recently, gentrification. But she also experienced the community’s rich tradition of “looking after each other”.

 - The need to disrupt traditional planning through approaches that put impacted residents at the center — such as community-engaged “civic hacks” which generate outside-the-box ideas in historically marginalized neighborhoods.

In school growing up, Marc Cardon had been repeatedly bullied and mocked In school because teachers and students thought he looked “Native American.” So, it’s hardly surprising that when he first became engaged with social justice activism, he developed tactics rooted in anger and fear.

Organizations:

Books:

How can we advance environmental sustainability so that equity, and the people most affected, are at the core — not an afterthought? That’s the key question that our guest, Julian Agyeman, explores on our most recent B-Change podcast episode.

The examples that Julian discusses in this episode include:

When people think about conflict resolution, they often picture a mediator sitting down with a couple of people in an organization to resolve a dispute. Eben Weitzman does some of that, but his real interest lies in resolving deep-seated systemic conflicts in organizations — disputes that “never go away” or where there is a pattern of conflicts constantly arising about what seemed to be different issues but perhaps the conflicts are springing up because of an unidentified  “root cause” that needs to be addressed.

What does it mean to have four generations in the same workplace -- from babyboomers to Gen Z?  What happens when they engage in big cultural issues such as Me Too, racial justice and gender expression?  That’s the very issue that certified professional coach Ana Polanco tackles, as she helps social justice organizations bridge the generation divide and promote shared values.  In her career, Polanco has worked with organizations such as Amnesty International, the hospitality union UNITE HERE, and the AFL-CIO’s Labor Council for Latin American Advancement. 

The infectious beat of Marcus Santos and the Brazilian drumming group he leads helps students at Somerville high school feel more welcome and engage in the community. Marcus has spearheaded the formation of a loose network of more than 20 drumming groups around the world. The Somerville group and the network as a whole are called Grooversity. In this episode, Marcus is joined by Elmer Pleitez, a junior at Somerville High School. Marcus and Elmer talk about:

Our producer, John Consilvio joins Warren Goldstein-Gelb behind the microphone for this interview.