This year the McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research at New York University continued our work creating new knowledge about the root causes of poverty, developing interventions to address its consequences, and translating research findings into action through policy and practice. We also continued our work fostering important discussions about inequality, systemic racism, mental health and the effects of trauma. Our experts traveled the country to discuss these topics and call for change.
We’d like to share several highlights of our year relating to these important discussions. We’d also like to take a moment to tell all of our colleagues, partners, stakeholders, funders and friends how much we appreciate your support and hard work.
Launching “Black Boys and Men: Changing the Narrative” Podcast
On January 12 McSilver kicked off the year by launching a 16-part podcast series examines issues of systemic racism and oppression and its devastating consequences for Black boys and men as well as solutions for redefining the narrative. It features some of the country’s top thought leaders, activists and academics such as: Flores Forbes, Tiq Milan, Terrance Coffie, and Dr. Ivory Toldson. A #ChangingTheNarrative social media campaign engaged New Yorkers to complete the phrase, “Black Boys and Men Are…” in an attempt to redefine the narrative which shapes public perception of Black boys and men. Listen to it on Google Play, Stitcher, Apple Podcasts and SoundCloud.
2018 McSilver Awards Honors Vanguards of Social Justice
The 2018 McSilver Awards marked the sixth anniversary of this powerful celebration. On June 4 in the Rosenthal Pavillion of the NYU Kimmel Center, the event honored Tarana Burke, civil rights activist and founder of the me too Movement; Marley Dias, founder of #1000BlackGirlBooks; Erica Ford, CEO and Founder, LIFE Camp, Inc., Maria Hinojosa, Emmy Award-winning journalist; Michael Hurwitz, director of Greenmarket at GrowNYC; and Anna Deavere Smith, Tony and Pulitzer Prize-nominated playwright, actress and NYU professor; and Rev. Michael A. Walrond, Jr., civil rights leader and senior pastor of First Corinthian Baptist Church.
Speaking Out About Ending the Poverty to Prison Pipeline
On October 11, Dr. Michael A. Lindsey, executive director of McSilver, joined Sharon Content, John Ducksworth and Dr. Ashwin Vasan in a discussion moderated by the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies’s CEO and executive director Jennifer Jones Austin. Panelists discussed challenges and strategies for shutting down the poverty-to-prison pipeline. “What we’ve learned is that about 80% of the kids who are detained and return to the community do not return to school,” said Dr. Lindsey. FPWA has shared a full recording of this powerful conversation on Facebook.
FAQ NYC, the New Yorkest Podcast, Moves to McSilver
In November, FAQ NYC, the weekly podcast about how — and why — New York City works, found a new home at McSilver in November. Co-hosted by Harry Siegel and Dr. Christina Greer, produced by Alex Brook Lynn and funded by Civil, FAQ NYC covers the smartest, most interesting people in the city; digging into what’s happening in local government, politics and civic life. Listen to it on iTunes, Google Play, Overcast.fm, Pocketcasts
Co-hosting a Monsters and Men Screening and Discussion on Policing and Policed Lives
On November 5, we co-hosted a free screening of the film Monsters and Menat NYU’s Cantor Film Center, attended by over 150 people. It was followed by a panel discussion about policed lives, policing and justice led by McSilver’s executive director, Dr. Michael A. Lindsey, and including the director Reinaldo Marcus Green; Jerika Richardson of the NYC Civilian Complaint Review Board; Harry Siegel, of the New York Daily News and FAQ NYC; and Vincent M. Southerland of the Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law at NYU Law School.
Telling Congressional Staff Members: “We Need a National Taskforce on Black Boys and Suicide”
The suicide rate of Black children ages 5-11 has doubled over the past generation, with boys accounting for most of the deaths. Dr. Michael A. Lindsey called for the taskforce to address this alarming trend on December 6 during a congressional staff briefing at the U.S. Capitol that was hosted by Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D, N.J.). Dr. Lindsey called for the taskforce during a discussion titled, “Racial Disparity in Mental Health – the Need for Inclusion in Research and Resources,” that was moderated by Dr. Alfiee Breland-Noble, project director of AAKOMA; and joined by Denise Juliano-Bult of NIMH and Dr. William B. Lawson, editor-in-chief of the Journal of the National Medical Association.