policy

Rep. Ayanna Pressley stayed in her district on Inauguration Day and “chose community over chaos” during an event honoring Martin Luther King Jr. in Roxbury on Monday.

Pressley announced earlier this month her intention to boycott the inauguration ceremony in Washington and as an alternative host a “Beloved Community Day” in Nubian Square. She also spoke on the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day breakfast early Monday morning, where Sen. Ed Markey also spoke as an alternative of attending President Donald Trump's inauguration.

Community members, local leaders and voters gathered on the Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building on Monday at 1:30 p.m. The MLK Day celebration included face painting, food and a message of hope as Donald Trump was sworn in as president nearly 400 miles away.

“Today's event is about reminding us all that the power to create transformative change has always rested with the people, regardless of who sits behind the desk in the Oval Office or who holds the gavel in Congress,” said Pressley of the gang.

Representatives from the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA) and the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Advancement joined Pressley to offer the opening remarks around 2 p.m.

Maroni Minter, a Gabon-born immigrant, spoke about two state legislative efforts to extend legal access for immigrants and protect immigrants' rights to hunt justice without being questioned about their immigration status. Trump has promised mass deportations of migrants on “day one.”

“Dr. King taught us the power of solidarity, and it is important that we recognize how racism, xenophobia and inequality are interconnected,” said MIRA’s Minter. “Together we must and will break down these barriers and build a society based on equity and inclusion for all, regardless of race, ethnicity or immigration status.”

Pressley invoked several of King's views, from selecting “community over chaos” to “accepting disappointment and holding on to hope.” She spoke of using King's example to “have the imagination to imagine a more just world, the strategy to make it happen, and the perseverance to see it through.”

Anne Rousseau, a Jamaica Plain resident and co-chair of the JP Progressives, said she fears Trump's upcoming presidency will push the country back right into a “racist” and “homophobic” society. But, Rousseau said, Pressley “always inspires me to show up.”

“I think it's important for her to speak her mind. I think it brings hope to people. She inspires people,” Rousseau said. “I choose to be in the community and I think it inspires a lot of people to do that.”

Kennann McKenzie-DeFranza, an elected member of the Beverly School Committee, came upon concerning the event through Pressley's mailing list. She said the event may very well be inspiring, especially on a day when some is likely to be disillusioned.

“I like seeing our young people here. I heard a lot about how young people felt frustrated and disinterested,” she said. “I hope events like this help them realize that you don’t have to do big, big things to show up and just participate.”

Speaking to reporters, Pressley said Trump's threats up to now have been “very predictable” but that she had not yet heard his inaugural speech.

“Dr. “However, King said it is important that we study the words of our oppressors to inform our strategy,” Pressley said.

policy

Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley won’t attend President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration later this month, her office said Tuesday.

Pressley, who represents much of Boston and a few suburbs, said in an announcement that she had other plans for Jan. 20, Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

“I plan to spend Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend in my district at community events that nourish our collective soul and recommit us to building a future rooted in love,” said Pressley.

The federal holiday, celebrated on the third Monday in January, sometimes falls on Inauguration Day, which the Constitution sets as January 20. If January 20 is a Sunday, the president will likely be sworn in on Monday.

The congresswoman, who’s a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, was recently sworn in for her fourth term. Over the summer, Pressley boycotted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to Congress and joined much of the state's congressional delegation.

Pressley's office said she would host an event at a site significant to each King and the black community in Boston over the long weekend, on the eve of the second Trump presidency.

“As we prepare to mitigate the most damaging and hateful policy decisions the Trump White House will make, I will be in the 7th District of Massachusetts to help organize and mobilize our collective power that Dr . “King’s vision of justice and justice for all calls Massachusetts and America his home,” Pressley continued in his statement.

The details of the event have yet to be determined, but speakers and workshops held by local grassroots organizations are planned, Pressley's office said. More details about their event will likely be announced soon.

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Rep. Ayanna Pressley praised President Joe Biden's recent decision to commute the sentences of nearly everyone on federal death row, calling it a “historic and groundbreaking actin an announcement on Monday.

Pressley, who represents much of Boston and a few surrounding suburbs, has long been a vocal opponent of the death penalty. She had before Biden urged to make use of his clemency authority to commute the sentences of all 40 people on federal death row before he leaves office next month.

Biden stopped in need of Pressley's request and commuted the sentences of a complete of 37 people. Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is one in all the inmates facing execution, together with Dylann Roof and Robert Bowers. Roof was convicted of killing nine black members of Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston in a racist rampage in 2015. Bowers was convicted of the 2018 killing of 11 Jewish worshipers on the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in U.S. history.

Biden commuted the sentences of the 37 other inmates to life in prison without the potential for parole. The sentences for Tsarnaev, Roof and Bowers weren’t commuted because their cases involved “terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder,” Biden said in an announcement. At the state level, there are still many more people on death row.

“[Biden’s decision] will save lives, address the deep racial disparities in our criminal justice system and send a powerful message about redemption, decency and humanity,” Pressley said in an announcement.

Biden campaigned on abolishing the federal death penalty in 2020 and directed the Justice Department to issue a moratorium on federal executions in 2021. Earlier this month, he commuted the sentences of about 1,500 individuals who were released from prison and placed under house arrest through the coronavirus pandemic and pardoned 39 people convicted of non-violent crimes.

President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to resume federal executions upon his return to office. He resumed it in his first term after a break of just about 20 years. A complete of 13 executions were carried out under his watch, all of which took place in the ultimate six months of his presidency. Trump said During his 2024 campaign, he called for drug dealers and human traffickers to be given the death penalty.

In an interview with GBH NewsPressley said Biden should go further and release detained individuals who don’t pose a threat to public safety.

“State-sanctioned murder is not justice. It’s not a deterrent to crime,” Pressley said on CNN this week.

policy

Two members of the US House of Representatives initially urged the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to analyze the health risks of hair straighteners, that are used primarily by black women, in 2023. Now they’re asking the agency why it has twice postponed its planned date for proposing a ban on products containing formaldehyde, which studies have shown to guide to increased cancer rates.

Democratic Reps. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Shontel Brown of Ohio urged the FDA in a letter to finalize the proposed rule banning certain hair straighteners for salon and residential use. Rep. Nydia Velazquez of New York joined Pressley and Brown in signing the letter, which is dated Tuesday.

The FDA announced a possible rule for 2023 and had initially set an April goal date for publishing the proposal. The date was then pushed back to July after which to September.

The letter from Pressley, Brown and Velazquez – all of whom are running for re-election this 12 months – asks FDA Commissioner Robert Califf to offer specific reasons for the delay.

Pressley told the Associated Press that one reason black women seek hair straightening treatments is because they face discrimination due to their hair.

“If you Google unprofessional hairstyles for work right now, you're inundated with images of black women,” said Pressley, who also believes further delay may lead to more health issues for communities of color. “Everything from protective hairstyles, Senegalese twists or braids like I wore for many years, to Afros or locs… I just want everyone to be able to show up fully, authentically, with no regrets, without fear, without discrimination.”

It's not unusual for the FDA to have issues on its regulatory agenda for years. For example, a draft of a proposed ban on menthol cigarettes was released in 2022, however the deadline for finalizing the rule was pushed back twice before being postponed indefinitely in April.

When asked in regards to the letter, an FDA spokesperson told AP that officials would respond on to lawmakers. Last month, the agency said the proposed ban was still one among its top priorities and was within the legislative process, but couldn’t comment to AP on the timing or content of the proposal.

Black women and ladies of other ethnicities have been using chemical hair straightening treatments for a long time, and lots of the straighteners, creams and keratin treatments contain formaldehyde – a chemical utilized in pesticides and to preserve dead bodies.

A 2022 study from the National Institutes of Health found that folks who used hair straighteners had an increased risk of developing uterine cancer. A 2023 study from Boston University found that postmenopausal women who used hair straighteners most steadily had a greater than 50% increased risk of uterine cancer than women who used them rarely.

Thousands of lawsuits allege that cosmetic firms that make a number of the hair straighteners misrepresented the products' “health effects” and exposed plaintiffs to chemicals that increased the danger of uterine and ovarian cancer. Some also claim they became infertile after using the products.

In an October social media video, the FDA reminded that there is no such thing as a ban yet and that the agency plans to work with the cosmetics industry to encourage them to develop alternative hair straightening products.