How Boston’s mayor plans to redeploy $12 million
Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh made news last Friday by declaring racism a public health problem and outlining plans to redeploy $12 million in police overtime funding to other programs, targeting challenges rooted in systemic racism and economic and racial inequities. But even though he garnered headlines, Walsh told Michelle A. Williams, dean of the faculty for the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, on Tuesday that the change was actually long overdue. “Racism exists in all parts of our society,” said Walsh. Responding to a query from Williams during the School’s “Voices in Leadership During Crisis” series about the origins of Friday’s declaration, the mayor enumerated manifestations of the problem in the city in housing, access to capital, business and employment opportunities, public safety and policing, and health. “One of my regrets will be not making this declaration earlier,” Walsh said. “Moving forward, we’re going to be focused in many...