Alexis Rickmers
The Project
Alexis’s (she/her) project will address racial bullying in Massachusetts’s public schools through direct representation, Know Your Rights training, and working with school districts to implement race-responsive anti-bullying policies.
In the 2018–2019 school year, 5.2 million students ages 12 to 18 reported that they experienced some form of harassment or bullying in school, with one in four experiencing bullying related to their race or national origin. In highly segregated schools, racial bullying and harassment are a prevalent issue. In a sample of Greater Boston school districts, several districts had a student populations with 70% (or more) white students. Other school districts had a Black or Hispanic population of 10% or less. Incidents of racial bullying and feelings of racial isolation can increase where students of color attend predominantly white schools.
Racial bullying is a unique problem that needs a comprehensive response to seek immediate relief for the students and a systemic approach to change the culture within schools.
Alexis’s experience as a teacher and advocate motivates her commitment to working with students, families, and districts to promote educational equity for students of color.
Fellowship Plans
During her Fellowship, Alexis will provide direct representation to impacted students and families. She will send demand letters to school districts to secure enforcement of anti-discrimination and anti-bullying laws. Additionally, Alexis will create a Know Your Rights guide to empower students and families in the K-12 system to reference when experiencing racial bullying. This effort will target districts that have high rates of racial bullying. She will work closely with school staff on preventative measures they can and should take to reduce the racial harassment and isolation of their students.
Media
Racial Bullying in Schools Is on the Rise — Including Here in Mass.
Students of color deserve to feel safe at school and to see real change from their peers and administration. I am honored to use my Equal Justice Works Fellowship to address this urgent need and empower the students of Massachusetts.
Alexis Rickmers /
2023 Equal Justice Works Fellow
The Project
Dave (he/him) advocates at Greater Boston Legal Services (GBLS) for low wage workers in the Boston area to increase health and safety at work through direct legal services, community education, and policy advocacy.
No one should have to choose between losing income and protecting their health. But low-wage workers are often fired or get their hours cut for asserting their rights to paid sick leave or safe and healthy working conditions. As a result, poor health outcomes and high unemployment are concentrated in the working-class neighborhoods that make our state run.
Fellowship Highlights to Date
In the first year of the Fellowship, Dave has:
- Trained over 425 workers and advocates about sick time and paid medical leave rights
- Won settlements totaling $119,000 for unpaid sick time and wrongful termination of 27 workers
- Won $50,000 in unemployment benefits for seven wrongly terminated workers
- Obtained $260,000 in Paid Family Medical Leave benefits for 34 workers with serious health conditions
- Expanded eligibility for Paid Family Medical Leave benefits to thousands of undocumented workers through individual appeals, legal research, and advocacy with the state agency
- Submitted proposed regulatory changes to the Department of Family and Medical Leave to improve appeal rights for late applicants and wrongfully denied applicants
Next Steps
In the next year, Dave plans to:
- Start a new community partnership for GBLS Employment Law Unit to reach more immigrant workers
- Develop model demand letters for community partners to use for paid sick leave and hold workshops
- Continue systemic advocacy on worker health in new state legislative cycle, to expand paid sick leave, paid medical leave, and improve accessibility of these benefits
Media
Massachusetts Businesses Not Following COVID-19 Sick Time Program, Workers and Advocates Say
Eight from Harvard Law named Equal Justice Works Fellows
The pandemic demonstrates that all of our lives are connected, and those who put profit over people imperil everyone.
Dave McKenna /
2021 Equal Justice Works Fellow
The Project
Tara aims to make accessible and affordable childcare for low-income people in Massachusetts a reality through direct representation, community outreach, and systemic advocacy.
Cost makes childcare inaccessible to most low-income people in Massachusetts. Unfortunately, newly developed regulations of childcare subsidies and vouchers make affordable childcare largely inaccessible. This also makes the benefits of affordable childcare, including mitigating the impact of toxic stress and increasing access to work, education, and healthcare, inaccessible. Tara will work to reform existing and newly implemented state agency policies and practices to recognize the rights of low-income Massachusetts residents and to secure increased access to affordable childcare.
Access to childcare can help disrupt intergenerational poverty by increasing opportunity and improving the health and well-being of parents, guardians and children. Tara believes that policies and programs should be guided by the lived experience of low-income persons, and she aims to ensure that their voices are elevated in the development of childcare regulations.
Fellowship Plans
Tara will provide representation to individuals who have been unfairly denied or terminated from childcare subsidies and vouchers. Tara will work with community and grassroots organizations to identify individuals who need representation and to ensure that low-income Massachusetts residents are aware of their rights in the applications process and once they have attained childcare assistance. After having engaged in community outreach and individual representation, Tara will work to make necessary changes to the law to combat structural barriers to accessing affordable childcare.
Childcare is a vital tool to mitigate the causes and consequences of poverty. The provision of this resource should not just be a formalistic benefit but an actual, accessible resource.
Tara Wilson /
Equal Justice Works Fellow
The Project
Jessica provided advocacy and representation to ensure that people with disabilities had access to integrated and respectful health care in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Despite both federal and state laws mandating equal access to health care, people with disabilities (PWD) frequently face significant barriers to receiving adequate medical care. Some barriers are physical barriers, including a lack of adaptive medical equipment, such as examination tables and chairs, weight scales, radiological equipment, and mammography equipment. Other equally significant barriers include attitudes of healthcare workers who possess negative stereotypes about disability or simply have not received training to ensure that PWD have access to appropriate and culturally competent care. These barriers often result in drastically inferior medical care for PWD.
Fellowship Highlights
In the past two year, Jessica has:
- Represented 10 PWD and provided advice, counsel, and referrals to an additional 30 PWD to ensure access to medical care
- Gathered over 100 stories of PWD and affidavits as part of a system effort to improve MassHealth’s non-emergency medical transportation system
- Participated in 3 impact litigation cases to ensure that PWD have access to appropriate medical care, accessible medical equipment, and non-emergency medical transportation
- Presented 15 workshops at the Boston Center for Independent Living
What’s Next
Now that her Fellowship is complete, Jessica plans to continue working on this vital project at Boston Center for Independent Living.