Mass. Black Lawyers Assoc. marks 50 years
Since then, more than 70 Black lawyers have served as state judges, three as Suffolk County district attorneys and one as chief justice of the Supreme Judicial Court. 1,464 belong to the Massachusetts Bar, according to the 2020-21 Massachusetts Lawyer Census.

Hall takes helm at Urban League
The civil rights lawyer and former prosecutor credits his upbringing with giving him a strong sense of Black community. “I grew up being exposed to the civil rights movement, through the stories of family members as well as through books and documentary series like ‘Eyes on the Prize.

MIT forum tackles racial wealth gap
Hackathons usually involve computer programmers and sometimes engineers gathering together to brainstorm, trying to solve a technical challenge. But the 75 activists, faith leaders and students assembled for a hackathon at MIT last weekend were focused on an economic and social challenge: the racial wealth gap.

Rachael Rollins resigns over ethics investigations
After 13 months as the first Black woman to hold the position, Rollins resigned May 19, following the release of two federal reports on a series of ethical breaches.

A warrior for legal system reform
In our country, there are thousands of politicians and appointed government officials who claim to work hard for their constituents. But here in Massachusetts, we have a history of public servants who have made a real difference in the lives of the people they serve.

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Black artists honored
This weekend Topper Carew (left) was honored with a lifetime achievement award at the 25th Boston Comedy Festival. He is pictured here with Boston Comedy Festival winner Learnmore Jonasi..

IN THE NEWS
In honor of his service and sacrifice, a Council resolution recognized as a “Citizen Square” the intersection of Boylston and Dartmouth Streets near Copley Square, the central Boston Public Library and the Boston Marathon finish line. He has been a champion and advocate for veterans and military families throughout his life.

Building a diverse construction industry
The Biden administration’s infrastructure plan, passed last year, includes 32,000 projects totaling $220 billion in planned spending with an extraordinary commitment to aging infrastructure repairs, new climate mitigation strategies and innovative technology.

ABCD to offer teenagers more summer jobs
In the past few years, ABCD has offered between 1,000 and 1,200 summer jobs to Boston teens. This summer they are looking to hire 1,700. The program, called SummerWorks, connects 14- to 21-year-olds to summer jobs with nonprofits in neighborhoods and communities across Boston.

Cannabis Control Commission scraps social consumption pilot program, adopts new approach
“Our suggestion is, if you want us to go and work on the pilot program, that’s step one and that will take an extended period of time,” Stebbins said. “We’re saying, right now, to help direct our work, we don’t feel that the pilot program is needed as it’s written.

$9.5B in federal funds boost union apprenticeships
“$9.5 billion is coming to Massachusetts for a variety of infrastructure projects — and, of course, on the union side, that translates into good union wages and benefits but also opportunities for apprenticeships, to get people into the trades,” said Frank Callahan, president of the Massachusetts Building Trades Council.

African Fashion Week returns to Boston
Designer Nahdra Ra Kiros founded African Fashion Week in 2016 to address a hole in local fashion. “One of the things that I felt needed more nourishment was the representation of Africa, African culture, on the runway in the fashion season in Boston,” says Ra Kiros.

A musical day in the neighborhood
Saturday, June 3, more than 55 local musicians will flood the streets of the Ashmont Adams area of Dorchester, strumming guitars and belting out vocals from porches around the neighborhood. Dorchfest, in its second year, is a celebration of musical talent in Dorchester.

Exploring modern jazz through a Caribbean lens
“The Harlem Suite” is the latest album (released March 31 on the Ropeadope label) from Jacques Schwarz-Bart, Berklee professor, saxophonist and composer. Based in Manhattan, in Boston to teach, and hailing from Guadeloupe and France, Schwarz-Bart’s music has both originality and deeply historical narratives.

BECMA and Ujima host Vineyard Black business tour
The Black Economic Council of Massachusetts (BECMA) and Boston Ujima Project joined forces with Live Like a Local Tours Boston and the MV Black Biz Day Tour to sponsor a MV Black Biz Day Tour to Martha’s Vineyard. Members had a chance to stop by multiple Black-owned businesses across the island.