by Channing Capacchione | WeINSPIRE Reporter

BALTIMORE, Md. - The past few weeks have challenged leaders and been pivotal in creating social change around the country. Imari K. Paris Jeffries, recently appointed Executive Director at King Boston, is using his previous experience at nonprofits to bring about change in Boston and beyond.

King Boston, honors the legacy and life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife, Coretta Scott King. The nonprofit is dedicated to creating a world-class memorial to the King family in the Boston Commons, the United State’s oldest park, where Dr. King addressed the city of Boston in 1965 about the issues of “racism and economic injustice.”

Paris Jeffries' roles with nonprofit organizations have allowed him to prove himself as a leader at the forefront of the fight for social justice.

Most of Paris Jeffries previous work has been based in social justice and racial equity. He looks forward to the experiences at a new organization where he will be engaging with the Boston community and working on philanthropic initiatives under a mission similar to his own personal sentiments.

After joining the U.S. Army in 1991, Paris Jeffries has dedicated his time and career to community work  since 1996. When reminiscing on his life Paris Jeffries describes his experiences noting, “I’ve gone from serving my country to serving my community.” 

Today, Paris Jeffries is a PhD candidate at University of Massachusetts Boston studying History/Africana Studies & American studies, and currently calls Boston home. A southern native, Paris Jefferies now resides in Boston with his family.

Paris Jeffries has been working closely over the past few weeks with Marie St. Fleur, the first Hatian-American State Legislature and Executive Director of King Boston. “Having the baton passed to me from one social justice leader to another, seems like a natural extension of my work,” says Paris Jeffries. “When you work in the Black community, while being inclusive to all residents, you have to be able to translate the mission in a way that multiple people can engage with it. I think I’ve been successful in being inclusive in the past.”  Together, Paris Jeffries and St. Fleur are ensuring the transition into Jefferies’ new role is seamless.

This past week, Paris Jeffries and St. Fleur co-authored an Op-Ed in the Boston Globe, encouraging the community to take “anti-racist action.”

“It’s an honor to be able to follow Marie St. Fleur in her work,” says Paris Jeffries. St. Fleur has been “instrumental in ensuring that the King Boston memorial can be placed in the Boston Commons.” Previously, there had been a moratorium for new monuments on the Boston Commons.

“Symbols matter,” says Paris Jeffries. The King Boston memorial represents images of hope and values of the American way. As a country we are dismantling monuments and memorials that are inherently racist, but the King memorial has the ability to symbolize the “national treasure in the King family and symbolize the values that Boston wants to represent.”

The blueprint for the memorial stands three stories high, and will hold great significance for a historic city like Boston. Paris Jeffries states that the memorial has the potential “to be the first memorial post-viral and racial pandemic.”

“This memorial represents love and a commitment to justice, and it represents our city's commitment to racial and economic justice,” concludes Paris Jeffries.

King Boston is already working with other city organizations and chapters of national organizations, such as the NAACP, addressing issues such as dismantling racism and elevating the equity platform to the city of Boston. 

Another initiative Paris Jeffries will be working closely on is the development of the King Center for Economic Justice, which will be located at the Boston Public Library in Roxbury, Massachusetts. The King Center for Economic Justice, as described by Paris Jeffries, is a research organizing, galvanizing institution that works as a community notetaker for creating actionable means to serve initiatives surrounding economic insecurity of minorities and hold policies accountable. 

The King Center for Economic Justice aspires to be similar to the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in the historic Harlem of New York City. The center is a research and cultural center at the Harlem New York Public Library containing the largest collection of art and artifacts of African heritage. Likewise, the King Center also archives papers and documents and contains two collections of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s papers.

“There’s a narrative we’ve been fed about things that are public,” states Paris Jefferies. He talks about the diminishing of public enterprises such as public school funding, transportation, and infrastructure. “The public is what our hard earned sweat and vote pays for in order for us to be a part of democracy and the public systems represent symbols of our democracy.”

As a society, we have the opportunity to “reinvigorate around our democracy and our public,” and must work to combat voter suppression and gerrymandering in the upcoming election in November 2020. “When we buy into anti-black thought and messaging and don’t utilize our public resources or neglect voting, we are participating in the same rhetoric that has us participating in a racist society,’ says Paris Jeffries.

“We are currently going through a viral and racial pandemic, and people are dying from both at an incredible rate,” says Paris Jeffries.

During the pandemic, when protests began, “Black people didn’t get to shelter in place,” says Paris Jeffries. “People got to see it. The stillness of the pandemic allowed for the art of self-reflection.”

“Economic injustice is a way that racism is perpetuated for communities of color, and that is one of our focuses for King Boston,” says Paris Jeffries. “It’s a bold mission, but lots of people are following.” Many institutions in the Boston area, such as University of Massachusetts Boston and Boston University have announced plans for future research on anti-racism.

Paris Jeffries discusses understanding socialization and policy that affect the ways in which we think about people and the ideologies surrounding our culture that shapes our behavior and actions. Changing our ideas as a society can stem from amendments to Federal, State, and institutional policy.

“We need to live in a society where everyone has the opportunity to succeed,” says Paris Jeffries. “It’s going to take a lot of work. It’s not an easy task to dismantle 400+ years of systematic racism.”

Among others, Robert Lewis Jr. has served as a wonderful mentor and sponsor to Paris Jeffries, describing him as a “Godfather of leadership” to many in the Boston area. “I owe a lot of who I aspire to be as a leader from [Lewis],” says Paris Jeffries. “He models what a leader looks like, along with other leaders in this town. I am grateful to have him pave the way in front of him, and allow us to follow behind him.”

Robert Lewis Jr. engages young people in employment and college readiness opportunities through his work as the Founder & President of The BASE, with the mission of combining sports and educational opportunities for urban youth.

While there have been many mentors in Paris Jeffries’ life, his children inspire him most. As a protective father, Paris Jeffries explains, “I want my children to live in a world where they are free to fail. We currently don’t live in a world where they are free to be who they want to be.”

“One day we will hopefully be in a society where we can respect people from different races, genders, and species,” says Paris Jeffries. “When we can have compassion for our land and our people, and other beings, we can have a deep level of understanding of one another, and we will be in a different place.”

As Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, leader of the new Boston Universtiy Anti-Racist Research Center and author of “How to Be an Antiracist,” describes being anti-racist as examining your own lense in which you approach your work. Anti-racism goes further than simply not being racist, it is about actively working towards equality and inclusion. “In a racist society, it is not enough to be non-racist, we must be anti-racist,” says Angela Davis.

Paris Jeffries highlights the importance of discussing anti-racism and becoming aware of the racist biases in your own life. While these conversations may be difficult, it is important to  examine how anti-blackness may show up in your life regarding components such as friend groups, shopping habits, and organizations and communities you are aligned with. “Anti-blackness is more subtle, unless it’s being talked about and being attacked,” says Paris Jeffries.

Using analogies, Paris Jeffries explains how “nose blindness” is linked with racism. Referencing the famous Febreeze #Noseblind campaign, racism acts similar if we turn a blind-eye to the issues surrounding unfair treatment to Black people within society. “It’s time to have the noseblind conversation in order to examine our own anti-racist behavior,” says Paris Jeffries.

“If someone gives you good food everyday, you will likely pick up those good habits,” Paris Jeffries philosophizes. “It’s just like policy, once passed we will adhere and eventually socialize ideology that shapes the behavior for what you choose to engage in.”

And it goes beyond just political reform, Paris Jeffries notes, “Policy change in anti-racism has the effect, but the ideology and behavior change is what we need. We frame blackness in a framework that impacts behavior that we don’t realize in ways such as buying into the mythology and narrative of deviance.” 

Now more than ever, it is important we examine our own role in perpetuating stereotypes and how we can work together to become an anti-racist society.

Boston is the 9th largest city in the United States and the 4th largest for higher education institutions. Disparagingly, there is only a 5% African American population at the colleges within one of the United States’ most popular college cities ranging among over 60 institutions.

Paris Jeffries comments on the notion of “defunding higher education,” in the movement towards deep reform on the campus of higher education that includes removing intellectual white supremacy. Moving forward, it is important for colleges and universities to build a movement to encourage students to speak up, understand, and take action against the underrepresentation of minorities within higher education. 

While issues of police brutality and blatant racist actions sweeping our nation have come to our attention at a time when many of us are stuck at home during a global pandemic, the topic is not one we can ignore. There are few distractions, and too much injustice for us to carry on with usual activities. In the coming months, as we strive to retain a sense of normalcy, let us not forget the progress we still have to reach equality and commit to the sentiment of justice for all.

To get involved with King Boston, consider joining the Facebook Group, attending an upcoming event, or contacting the organization directly. Currently, King Boston is working on an equity statement project and is asking that people send equity statements from a variety of institutions to data@kingboston.org. From the information collected the statements will be archived and analyzed for things such as xenophobia and subtle racism, to create a framework and understanding of equity statements. 

Additionally, donations to King Boston are welcome in support of the organization’s mission and initiatives. Donate here.