IISC President Kelly Frances Bates was honored this Juneteenth holiday as part of the groundbreaking launch of a new exhibit titled “Living History Makers of Color in Hyde Park”, a pictorial installation of Boston residents and leaders of color who have made historical contributions locally and nationally.
The exhibit features 13 Hyde Park residents of color who are having a positive and enduring impact in the local and national arena and who have committed themselves to service in addressing marginalization, disparities, and inequities. Consisting of larger-than-life pictorial stands of each honoree, the exhibit is scheduled to travel to various sites around the state over the coming months and will have its home during the winter months at the Hyde Park Branch of the Boston Public Library.
The exhibit was conceived and produced by the Forum for Racial Equity in Hyde Park, led by Marcia Kimm-Jackson. The Forum for Racial Equity in Hyde Park via Educational Experiences (FREEE) believes that acknowledging modern Black and Brown contributions and history is important for many reasons. First, it allows us to eradicate the pervasive and damaging myth of inferiority that has been perpetuated throughout history about communities of color. By highlighting the achievements and successes of Black and Brown residents, we challenge this false narrative and promote a more truthful and positive view of the residents and the broader community in Hyde Park and beyond. Second, by recognizing the valuable contributions of Black and Brown residents, we can help to create a more inclusive city and state that values and respects the diverse experiences and perspectives of all individuals. And third, acknowledging the contributions and history of Black and Brown residents is a crucial step towards achieving racial justice and equity.
The full list of honorees, in addition to Kelly Frances Bates, includes:
Reverend Dr. Bruce H. Wall – “Defining the Church Without Walls” – Groundbreaking pastor/activist/changemaker
Aisha Francis-Samuels, Ph.D – “Educator at Heart” – First female college president at Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology
Conan Harris – “Purveyor of Fortitude and Foresight” – Esteemed purpose-driven leader and mentor
Segun Idowu – “Man of the Moment” – Exemplary economic and equity leader
Wyatt Jackson/Dianne Walker – “Ambassadors of Black Creativity, Giants in the Arts” – Impactful educators and award winning and historic artists
Ruthzee Louijeune, Esq. – “Working for the People, Advancing Equity” – First Haitian American city councilor; accomplished attorney
José C. Massó III/José Fabio Massó – “Voices for Change, Pride and Unity” – Award-winning broadcasters for equity and unity and living the legacy of love in service
Pat Odom – “Trailblazer” – First female of color in Massachusetts Army National Guard
Imari Paris Jeffries, Ph.D – “Keeper of Stories” – Exemplary and influential nonprofit leader & equity advocate
Ayanna Pressley – “Policy is my Love Language” – First Black woman elected to represent Massachusetts in Congress
Tanisha Sullivan, Esq. – “Courageous Leader and Fighter for Collective Advancement” – Visionary and impactful attorney, humanitarian and civil rights leader
Ricardo Arroyo, Esq. – “Making Space for All” – First city councilor of color in Hyde Park
Congratulations to all!
Kelly with her familyKelly with colleagues Miriam & SaraKelly and her son, PaulLeave a commentFebruary 2, 2023
In June of 2022, IISC decided to experiment with a four-day work week. First, it was just for the summer. Then we extended it into the fall. Eventually, after careful review of its impacts on multiple levels, we decided to make it permanent.
Here is the original post about this decision, which provides important context.
For years, our visionary president, Kelly Bates, dreamed of implementing a four-day work week at IISC. But it wasn’t until Covid broke open every preconception we had about work that it actually seemed possible. While Covid has led to a lot of heartbreak, it has also given us a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to completely reimagine our work, from where and when we work to how we manage our time and productivity and more. And so…we are trying an experiment this summer. From mid-June through August we are implementing a four-day work week at IISC.
Some background to this decision might be useful to share.
During Covid we went fully remote as an organization, as did so many others. And eventually, as we grappled with the impact of the pandemic on our work and personal lives, we implemented monthly restoration days (one Friday off each month) and started ending the workday on Fridays at 2 p.m. (essentially giving staff a 37-hour work week). These interim steps made a four-day work week experiment seem possible.
Before taking this step, we took a look around and learned from a lot of other organizations who have done this and we talked extensively with our staff. We learned that four-day work weeks are not a perfect solution to all that challenges us and that sometimes people will still work some on Fridays. But we also learned that a four-day work week can make the work/life balance significantly more manageable; multiple staff from other organizations that had implemented it shared that they’d not now have it any other way.
Another stop on this journey has been a simplification of our goals here at IISC to our intention to become sustainable, whole, and purposeful. Trying out a four-day work week is just one of the steps we are taking in pursuit of these goals. A four-day work week will require us to be more purposeful and intentional with our time and, ultimately, we hope that it means our staff who work diligently for racial justice will feel their work is more sustainable and that they are better able to show up as whole people.
We enter into this experiment with a lot of questions. Will it reduce stress or cause more? Will we be able to get our work done by getting better at prioritizing how we use our work time? Will it impact our finances? We are also entering into this experiment with a sense of gratitude for the out-of-the-box thinking it has taken to get us here, and with the hope that this change will better support our staff as vibrant humans who are living, being, and working in myriad ways to make the world a better place – within IISC and beyond.
The myth of the nonprofit sector is that we achieve our mission and creativity through a 9-5 workday. And if we have learned anything during the pandemic, it is that we all need to be better supported to live into our full potential. This policy change is in deep alignment with our values of love, networks, and racial justice and we are excited to launch an experiment that challenges us to live out these values in new ways.
Maybe some of you are already doing this, or will soon join us? If so, let us know how things are working out – you can use the comment section below. And check out this TedTalk with Juliet Schor discussing the value of the four-day work week – from retention of employees to enhanced productivity and overall wellness for people and families.
On June 11, 2019, we celebrated our 25th anniversary in a HUGE way and blew past even our own expectations! We welcomed over 200 guests at the Historic Hibernian Hall and shared our big news: we raised over $170,000 for IISC’s work and our Innovation Fund for Social Justice & Racial Equity! Thank you to everyone who showed up for racial equity with smiles, dancing shoes, financial contributions and by spreading the word about our efforts.
At the event we shared a video about IISC’s beautiful history (see below).
And Phillip Tomlinson choreographed our team in an awesome Flash Mob!
We want to offer deep gratitude to all our event sponsors and Innovation Fund contributors: The Barr Foundation, IISC Founders Circle/Interaction Associates Friends, The Boston Foundation, The Hyams Foundation, Ford Foundation, Berkshire Bank, the William Casper Graustein Memorial Fund, Interaction Associates, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Schott Foundation for Public Education, Jobin-Leeds Partnership, the Garfield Foundation, Eastern Bank, Insource Services, TSNEMissionWorks, DentaQuest Partnership for Oral Health Advancement, David Straus, Camille Kerr, Christopher Harris & Therese Giglia, Amy Hosford-Swan, Yves Nau, and Zenub Kakli.
We also send deep thanks to our Event Planning Committee: Christopher Harris (Chair), Adwoa Asare, Kelly Bates, Lawrence Barriner II, Fernanda Oliveira Costa, Marianne Hughes, Ramani Sripada, Melinda Weekes-Laidlow, and Shana Bryant Consulting.
And all of our Honorary Committee members: Ayanna Pressley, U.S. Congresswoman and Honorary Committee Chair, Akaya Windwood, Amaad Rivera, Barry Rosen, David Straus, Edgar Villanueva, Elissa Sloan Perry, Dr. Rev. Gloria E. White-Hammond, john a. powell, Kalila Barnett, Kim Janey, Boston City Councilor, Marianne Hughes, Dr. Mary Travis Bassett, Peter Gibb, Rev. Dr. Ray Hammond, Sandra Cotterell, Sanjiv Rao, Susan Misra, Suzanne Lee, Thomas Rice, Tito Jackson, Former Boston City Councilor.
IISC is pleased to offer the following three opportunities.
Senior Associate
People Operations Coordinator
Training Coordinator
This search is being led by Imagine Consulting, a talent and recruitment firm specializing in supporting nonprofit organizations in securing an equitable and antiracist future for our world. Interested candidates should click here to apply. If you have questions or need support completing the application, please reach out to our team at careers@imagineimpactllc.com.
IISC’s Values
Our values are as important as the skills you will provide to our organization. These values guide IISC in our work internally and externally:
We believe that social change is possible when three key elements are attended to: shared power and equity, network building, and love as a force for social change
We believe that transformative leadership is the kind of leadership we need in the 21st century
We believe in people’s right to be involved in the decisions that affect them so that they have influence over the quality of their lives
We believe in the dignity of all human beings and in taking care of our planet so that we can all live healthy lives and our communities can thrive
Senior Associate
The Senior Associate works with organizations, networks, government agencies and communities to produce and deliver services that are committed to transformational, long-term change for racial equity. The Senior Associate also contributes to our evolving methodology and strategy, committed to peer learning, and contributes to IISC’s staff goals as we strengthen our equitable workplace. We currently have two openings for this role, with one of the positions will be focused on training and developing new curriculum and innovations.
The People Operations Coordinator is responsible for overseeing the administrative tasks related to the HR, benefits, and operations functions of an organization. The position serves as a project manager for hiring coordination and preparation, manages the onboarding and offboarding processes, maintains employee records, tracks employee training, and ensures compliance with legal and regulatory agencies. The ideal candidate will be motivated by supporting staff of a mission-driven organization in advancing racial equity and social justice, while maintaining internal processes that align with the organization’s values and culture.
The Training Coordinator is responsible for providing logistical support for public offerings and training sessions, ensuring successful, high-quality experiences for clients, staff, and participants. Their duties include assisting before and during sessions, answering questions, managing registration through an event ticketing system, and organizing data for reporting. They should be confident in providing support for both online training sessions using Zoom features as well as in-person public workshops. The ideal candidate is a well-rounded individual who can coordinate with all stakeholders to handle the finer details of training experiences, ensuring the successful completion of workshops for all involved.
Vice President, Community Relations & Public Health, Baystate Health
On behalf of the Board of Directors of IISC, I am delighted to announce that Kelly Frances Bates has been appointed president of the Interaction Institute for Social Change effective June 15, 2017.
Since assuming the role of interim president in October 2016, Kelly has successfully led IISC with a sure hand through a time of significant organizational change, working effectively with the Board and staff to strengthen our organization. More recently, Kelly has pivoted to addressing IISC’s future direction and vision, launching and leading a joint Board-Staff strategy team and coordinating this with a comprehensive re-examination of IISC’s business model.
For those of you who do not yet know Kelly well, her appointment as our permanent president will draw on her 20+ years leading advocacy, racial justice, and women’s organizations. Prior to IISC, Kelly was the founding executive director of the Elma Lewis Center for Civic Engagement, Learning, and Research at Emerson College. She also served as the executive director of Access Strategies Fund, a social justice foundation funding organizations to expand democracy in communities of color and low-income communities. For ten years, Kelly led a consulting and training practice specializing in working with social change organizations and other institutions in the United States around issues of power, diversity, and organizational development. Read Kelly’s full bio here.
As we approach our twenty-fifth anniversary under Kelly’s leadership, the Board looks forward with great excitement to further strengthening IISC and – along with IISC’s talented and committed staff and our valued partners and affiliates – to shaping the next chapter in IISC’s future. Please visit our website to learn about our current work and services. And stay tuned as we roll out our new racial justice organizational training and announce plans for the celebration of our 25th anniversary!
The Interaction Institute for Social Change invites you to join a National Call to Action for Unity and Dialogue after the U.S. elections. From the moment the election is settled, we call for a peaceful response from Americans, and from people all over the globe, to the results.
We call for a national conversation in living rooms, workplaces, boardrooms, schools, and government offices to foster healingfrom the divisions that have been deepened by this election, and to explore the common ties that bind us.
We call on Americans to explore with honesty and empathy the role that race, gender, and immigrant status played in this election to create a powerful wedge in our communities. We ask for commitments and plans to remove this wedge, which for too long has deeply threatened, burdened, and dismantled our democracy. It has fostered violence and death and a loss of opportunity and personal dignity. It has constructed glass ceilings and prevented our children from realizing their full human potential.
We call on Americans to talk to each other and not at each other. The use of social media in this election has perpetuated the false notion that we cannot talk to one another or understand one another across differences or party affiliation. This is not true. In the right places with the right facilitation, we can have meaningful and healing dialogue. Unity is not agreement; it is a decision to stand firmly as Americans to embrace ideas and opinions different from our own, and to disagree peaceably in order to foster understanding and better solutions.
We call all Americans into “Big Democracy” – the belief that the public is fully capable of working together to create sustainable, just, and equitable communities. We can provide peaceful ways for the public to come together and – as professor and social activist Carl S. Moore says – “struggle with traditions that bind them and the interests that separate them so they can build a future that is an improvement on the past.” We can create these conditions with shared leadership and shared responsibility, and with the power of love that resides deeply within each one of us.
With this National Call to Action, we call on all Americans to shift the conversation about what is possible. We call on all Americans to communicate, demonstrate, and create places of experimentation to show that it is possible for the public to come together to solve problems and create change.
So many great podcasts, so little time to talk about them with friends. Have a listening party!
Generation Listen invited IISC’s Senior Associate Cynthia Silva Parker to share some facilitation tips for conversations about racism and racial identity. The activities are tailored to help listeners unpack episodes of the cutting-edge podcast Code Switch. Right now, people across the country are hosting “listening parties” where the podcast is paired with a conversation.
Tonight, Cynthia Parker will present “Race Talk” at an intercultural dialogue co-hosted by Fire, Grace Chapel’s young adult ministry. Parker explores racism through key moments of personal and professional insight.
“There are many useful guidelines for productive race talk,” Parker says, and many practical tips are included in the talk. Yet even with best practices, some moments of race talk do harm or feel unresolved. Parker shares her personal tips for connecting with her faith, and her faith in humanity, to continue moving forward with love.
What does it really take to catalyze diverse groups of people, within organizations or across sectors, to build trust, take action, and work together to achieve uncommon results? This is the question driving a panel hosted by Stanford Social Innovation Review on “The Network Leader.” The panel will take place on Tuesday, March 22 at 2PM EST.
IISC Senior Associate Curtis Ogden will reflect on the unfolding story of Food Solutions New England, a network he has been involved with for about five years.
“We are seeing people drawn to the network because of this commitment to justice and authenticity,” says Ogden. “We are seeing other organizations take up internal work around power and privilege. This network is more impactful because it sees more fully and clearly what is going on and what must be done.”
IISC Senior Associate Cynthia Silva Parker presented “Race Talk: Moving Beyond the Surface” at the Q Commons. On February 11 at 7PM the conversation continues at Grace Chapel in Watertown, MA. She and Colin Stokes, whose TedX talk on White Privilege will also screened, are leading a “deeper dialogue on racism, systemic injustice, bridge-building and reconciliation.”
Boston is abuzz with the Company One (C1) and Arts Emerson presentation of An Octoroon, the “hottest play from 1859” which has returned to the stage, coming off a sold-out NYC run. Since the play first came out over 150 years ago slavery in the US was abolished, yet audiences today can clearly see how many racial injustice and equity issues remain the same.
C1 is committed to making the connection between theater and civic life. Last week they invited educators to a panel discussion: Theater and Education on the Front Lines of Boston Communities. The event featured five brilliant panelists for a discussion on race and representation, including Ceasar McDowell (President, IIISC), Summer L. Williams (Director, An Octoroon), Tracy Strain (Director, The Lorraine Hansberry Documentary Project), Kendra Taira Field (Professor, History and Africana Studies at Tufts University), James Milord (Theater Teaching Artist, Company One).
IISC welcomes Kelly Frances Bates to our organization as Chief of Staff and Democracy Strategy. Kelly brings excitement to our work in Big Democracy and public engagement, especially as we seek to engage people from all walks of life. She has spent the past twenty years running social change organizations, and consulting and training around political engagement, anti-oppression, and diversity.
“I am thrilled that Kelly has joined IISC,” said IISC President Ceasar McDowell. “She is bringing her experience leading organizations and deep understanding of democracy and racial equity to IISC.”
Kelly is the recipient of leadership awards from Boston NAACP, Boston University School of Law and, in 2013, she was awarded the Women of Color Changing Our World Award. Kelly credits IISC with shaping her style as a facilitator and leader, very early in her career. “I have deeply respected IISC for years,” she said. “I have hired IISC, been through public trainings, and worked with the team here. IISC facilitation is powerful, meaningful, and extremely well-executed.”
Make Change Stick Beyond the MeetingTurn ideas into agreements that stick, and keep change going after the meeting ends. Perfect for teams stuck in “great conversation, little action.”
