In case you are interested > Begin forwarded message: > > From: "Embrace Boston" <[email protected]> > Subject: Introducing: The Fine Print > Date: June 4, 2025 at 7:15:25 AM EDT > To: <[email protected]> > > > The Fine Print > > POLICY FOR THE PEOPLE > > Welcome to The Fine Print. > > Today’s moment, amid an increasingly besieged democracy and divided nation, > feels like a daily battle for our collective soul. What’s more: these fights > are happening on so many fronts that choosing where to begin and what to do > may seem like a struggle of its own. > > Enter The Fine Print—Embrace’s latest narrative tool for re-imagining > democracy and holding it accountable. But this is more than a newsletter. > It’s a call for clarity, courage, and connection. > > Embrace’s mission has always been to disrupt structural racism and build > belonging through art, culture, and celebrating our shared humanity. We > believe democracy isn’t just shaped at the ballot box. It’s forged in > communities—by choosing to act on what we have in common rather than what > separates us. > > The Fine Print will trace how the threads of economic justice, culture, race, > and inclusion ripple out from the actions and inactions of policymakers, > asking what it really takes to model a society based on kinship and mutual > respect. Let us know what you think > <https://ctrk.klclick.com/l/01JWX9KAWK9XZQAWQQVGCV8CJR_0> as we look to > amplify these stories and make connections across history, the arts, and our > rapidly changing landscape. > “ > “The legal system can force open doors and sometimes even knock down walls, > but it cannot build bridges. That job belongs to you and me...our fates are > bound together.” > > —Thurgood Marshall while accepting the Liberty Award in 1992. > > Photo: Chad Davis > THE BIG PICTURE > > The battle for George Floyd’s memory: five years later > > George Floyd didn’t ask for this. > > Dying in broad daylight with a police officer’s knee on his neck. Having his > final moments become a viral event that shocked the country to its core. > Becoming the face of police reform, DEI initiatives, statues, the Black Lives > Matter movement, and later rightwing backlash. > > None of it. > > Yet, as we pass the five-year anniversary of his murder at the hands of > Minneapolis Police, we’re left wondering why his death failed to bring the > “racial reckoning” we believed was coming—and why some remain committed to > silencing his legacy forever. > > Some of the 140+ police reforms > <https://ctrk.klclick.com/l/01JWX9KAWK9XZQAWQQVGCV8CJR_1> around chokehold > bans and police oversight proposed in the aftermath of Floyd’s death have > indeed stuck throughout the country. But large pieces of that grand vision, > like The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act that died in a Republican-led > Senate <https://ctrk.klclick.com/l/01JWX9KAWK9XZQAWQQVGCV8CJR_2> two years in > a row, never came to pass. Others, like federal police oversight agreements > <https://ctrk.klclick.com/l/01JWX9KAWK9XZQAWQQVGCV8CJR_3> in Minneapolis and > Louisville, Kentucky, where police killed an unarmed Breonna Taylor during a > no-knock warrant arrest, have been rolled back. Along with attacks on DEI > initiatives meant to level corporate and educational playing fields, it seems > clear the Trump administration wants to wipe Floyd from the collective > consciousness. > > These reform rollbacks and narrative erasure are a feature of this > administration’s policy platform, not a bug. > > Look no further than the cancellation of a federal grant for Boston’s Museum > of African American History > <https://ctrk.klclick.com/l/01JWX9KAWK9XZQAWQQVGCV8CJR_4> and Trump’s > ordering the removal of the Black Lives Matter mural > <https://ctrk.klclick.com/l/01JWX9KAWK9XZQAWQQVGCV8CJR_5> in front of the > White House as evidence. Not only that, the administration also aims to > reinstate Confederate monuments toppled in the last eight years > <https://ctrk.klclick.com/l/01JWX9KAWK9XZQAWQQVGCV8CJR_6>, such as the Robert > E. Lee statue that was the epicenter of the 2017 white nationalist riots in > Charlottesville. > > The stories we tell, the histories we center, and the statues we erect help > shape our perception of who we are and what we value. That’s why we at > Embrace seek to build both physical and digital spaces that inspire > fellowship and belonging, presenting a more inclusive, just picture of what > America can be—to make sure Floyd’s death leads to real change. > > It’s up to us to build that world together—no matter how difficult the > current administration wants to make it. > FINER POINTS > > Tracking Democracy > Getting the feeling that President Trump has a grudge against the state of > Massachusetts? The Boston Globe’s Kara Miller lays out why the state’s > rejection of Trump <https://ctrk.klclick.com/l/01JWX9KAWK9XZQAWQQVGCV8CJR_7> > in three straight elections, its welcome for immigrants, and Harvard’s > resistance to his demands has made the Bay State a target of his ire. The > question now is, can Massachusetts weather these battles with the executive > branch until Trump’s second term ends? > Even as we monitor Trump’s aggressive lobbying of the Supreme Court to allow > his administration to send immigrants to South Sudan > <https://ctrk.klclick.com/l/01JWX9KAWK9XZQAWQQVGCV8CJR_8>, let’s also watch > out for these Supreme Court cases > <https://ctrk.klclick.com/l/01JWX9KAWK9XZQAWQQVGCV8CJR_9> before the end of > this session: > Mahmoud v. Taylor, in which the court’s conservative majority seems poised to > require that school districts allow parents to opt their children out of > reading LGBTQ+ books in class for religious reasons. > United States v. Skrmetti, which would uphold Kentucky and Tennessee’s ban on > gender-affirming care for minors who identify as transgender. > Oral arguments on whether President Trump’s executive order limiting > birthright citizenship should take effect. > Spotlight: Standup Citizens > Milford High School students staged a walkout from classes Monday > <https://ctrk.klclick.com/l/01JWX9KAWK9XZQAWQQVGCV8CJR_10> in protest of ICE > arresting 18-year-old Marcelo Gomes > <https://ctrk.klclick.com/l/01JWX9KAWK9XZQAWQQVGCV8CJR_11>, a junior at the > school, on his way to volleyball practice last Saturday. ICE may operate in > the shadows, but these young men and women, along with the rest of the > Milford community <https://ctrk.klclick.com/l/01JWX9KAWK9XZQAWQQVGCV8CJR_12>, > are making their stand for Gomes in public. > Not every major company is ditching DEI in the post-”racial reckoning” era. > Major Big Pharma player Merck, which has offices in Boston and Cambridge, > soundly rejected an anti-DEI proposal > <https://ctrk.klclick.com/l/01JWX9KAWK9XZQAWQQVGCV8CJR_13> from the National > Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) last week, re-affirming its commitment to > diversity and inclusion in their ranks. Kudos to Merck for standing by the > principle that valuing DEI, rather than being “discriminatory > <https://ctrk.klclick.com/l/01JWX9KAWK9XZQAWQQVGCV8CJR_14>,” can be a > powerful means of strengthening our workplaces > <https://ctrk.klclick.com/l/01JWX9KAWK9XZQAWQQVGCV8CJR_15>. > THE READING ROOM > > Here's a short list of what we've been reading and who we're following: > > June 2, 2025 (on the GOP's budget bill) > <https://ctrk.klclick.com/l/01JWX9KAWK9XZQAWQQVGCV8CJR_16> > —Heather Cox Richardson > > Opinion - I was police chief when George Floyd was murdered. I chose > conscience over career > <https://ctrk.klclick.com/l/01JWX9KAWK9XZQAWQQVGCV8CJR_17> > —Medaria Arradondo > > Trump won’t stop attacking Harvard. We need to treat it like an emergency. > (Paywall) <https://ctrk.klclick.com/l/01JWX9KAWK9XZQAWQQVGCV8CJR_18> > —Yvonne Abraham > > They Warned Us in 1945: Fascism in America Would Look Like Patriotism > <https://ctrk.klclick.com/l/01JWX9KAWK9XZQAWQQVGCV8CJR_19> > —The Rational League > > Federal agent’s tattoo stokes fear (on Martha's Vineyard ICE arrests) > <https://ctrk.klclick.com/l/01JWX9KAWK9XZQAWQQVGCV8CJR_20> > —Eunki Seonwoo > > Malcolm Lives!: The Official Biography of Malcolm X for Young Readers > <https://ctrk.klclick.com/l/01JWX9KAWK9XZQAWQQVGCV8CJR_21> > —Ibram X. Kendi > LET'S EMBRACE THE WORK > > 📲 Call U.S. Senators Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren > <https://ctrk.klclick.com/l/01JWX9KAWK9XZQAWQQVGCV8CJR_22> to help stop 10 > million people from losing Medicaid > <https://ctrk.klclick.com/l/01JWX9KAWK9XZQAWQQVGCV8CJR_23> due to sweeping > tax cuts in the Republican-backed budget bill heading to the Senate this week. > > 📜 Support the Safe Communities Act, Immigrant Legal Defense Act, and Dignity > Not Deportations Act in the State Legislature > <https://ctrk.klclick.com/l/01JWX9KAWK9XZQAWQQVGCV8CJR_24>, and follow > organizations like the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy (MIRA) > Coalition <https://ctrk.klclick.com/l/01JWX9KAWK9XZQAWQQVGCV8CJR_25> to > protect immigrant rights. > > 🎟️ Join us for the Embrace Ideas Festival > <https://ctrk.klclick.com/l/01JWX9KAWK9XZQAWQQVGCV8CJR_26>, which kicks off > on Wednesday, June 18 with Embrace Honors Juneteenth > <https://ctrk.klclick.com/l/01JWX9KAWK9XZQAWQQVGCV8CJR_27> and continues on > June 20 as Morgan DeBaun, founder and CEO of Blavity and author of Rewrite > Your Rules, and The Boston Globe’s Jeneé Osterheldt bring us “A Beautiful > Resistance” fireside-chat style. Get your tickets now! > > 🚨 We’re sending The Fine Print to everyone on Embrace’s email list (that’s > you!) to kick things off. But soon, the newsletter will only go out to > subscribers. So stick around. Hit the subscribe button. Forward it to your > friends. Build something with us. > SUBSCRIBE <https://ctrk.klclick.com/l/01JWX9KAWK9XZQAWQQVGCV8CJR_28> > Thank you for being part of The Fine Print community: readers like you move > this work forward. The long moral arc of the universe doesn’t bend toward > justice on its own—we bend it. Together. > SUPPORT EMBRACE <https://ctrk.klclick.com/l/01JWX9KAWK9XZQAWQQVGCV8CJR_29> > > Copyright © 2023, All rights reserved. > (Header photo by AP) > > > > > > > You received this email from Embrace Boston. > If you would like to unsubscribe, click here > <https://ctrk.klclick.com/l/01JWX9KAWK9XZQAWQQVGCV8CJR_30>.
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