Skip to content
Project 2025
Search

Latest Stories

Follow Us:
Top Stories
People walking down the steps of the U.S. capitol.

DNC's Proposed RCV Ban Sparks Debate Over 2028 Presidential Primaries

Francesca Hong Gains Momentum in Wisconsin Democratic Governor’s Race

Francesca Hong Gains Momentum in Wisconsin Democratic Governor’s Race

A Senior Man Using A Laptop Computer And Paying Bills With Nurse

Not All Change Is Good: Medicaid, Medicare Shifts Are Everyone’s Problem

Military education. Student in soldier uniform learning at wooden table indoors, selective focus

You Shouldn't Have to Go To War to Go To College

Close-up hands of unrecognizable man holding and using smartphone standing on city street, browsing internet, checking social media, using mobile application.

ALS Doesn't Wait. Our Health Care System Still Does.

Black, Latino residents sue Mass. city for discriminatory election system

Worcester, Massachusetts
SeanPavonePhoto/Getty Images
Sara Swann
By Sara SwannFeb 08, 2021
Sara Swann

As a staff writer, Sara covers a variety of democracy reform issues, including voting rights, money in politics, gerrymandering and civic education. Prior to joining The Fulcrum in May 2019, Sara reported on local government on Maryland's Eastern Shore for the USA Today network. She is a native West Virginian and a graduate of Syracuse University.

See More Writings by author

Black and Latino residents of Worcester, Mass., are suing the city, alleging its at-large system for electing School Committee members discriminates against communities of color.

People of color make up nearly half (44 percent) of Worcester's overall population, and the student population is even more diverse with three-fifths identifying as Latino or Black. However, all six current School Committee members are white, and only a few non-white members have ever been elected.

A group of residents, along with community organizations Worcester Interfaith and the city's chapter of the NAACP, filed the federal voting rights lawsuit Monday. The suit seeks to convert the six at-large School Committee seats into separate district seats to better reflect the city's diverse population.

Worcester is the second largest city in Massachusetts and one of the only jurisdictions in the Commonwealth to still use an at-large system for its School Committee. Most other cities and towns have switched to a system that includes at least some district-based seats.

Having only at-large seats makes it hard for minority candidates to garner enough support city-wide to win their elections, the complaint says. It also claims Worcester has a history of "polarized voting," in which the predominantly white electorate votes mainly for white candidates.

The most recent example of this, per the lawsuit, was the 2019 School Committee election in which the six winning candidates, all of whom were white, received the most support from the 10 whitest precincts in Worcester. But the candidates of color who received strong support from the 10 most diverse precincts were unable to secure enough votes citywide to win.

"The right of representation is fundamental to our democracy. Worcester's communities of color deserve to have their voices heard, especially as crucial decisions are made by the School Committee directly impacting the children and families of those communities," said Rebecca MacDowell Lecaroz, a partner at Brown Rudnick LLP and the lead attorney for the plaintiffs in this case.


Latest news

Answering the Call, Lawyers Must Lead the Defense of Democracy
Rule of Law

Answering the Call, Lawyers Must Lead the Defense of Democracy

Latino Voters Stand to Lose the Most if Supreme Court Greenlights Trump’s Mail‑Voting Power Play
Elections

Latino Voters Stand to Lose the Most if Supreme Court Greenlights Trump’s Mail‑Voting Power Play

After huge progressive Michigan win, El-Sayed faces a tougher test
Elections

After huge progressive Michigan win, El-Sayed faces a tougher test

Read More

Our Conservative and Liberal Union
An american flag flying high in the sky
Photo by chris robert on Unsplash

Our Conservative and Liberal Union

How are Americans supposed to make a more perfect union when we can’t agree on whether we need to turn our cultural clocks forward or backward?

This question is among the more difficult that people can pose to their fellow countrymen. Not just because it has no obvious or easily agreed upon answer, but because it’s more likely to be asked during contentious times, like the one we are in today.

Keep ReadingShow less
The Case for Intergenerational AI Advocacy
The letters ai are displayed on a blurred background.
Photo by Zach M on Unsplash

The Case for Intergenerational AI Advocacy

If Allison Baker and Maria Garcia apply for the same job against Matthew Owens or Joe Alvarez, and Matthew or Joe gets the job despite everything else being the same, that would seem to be a typical case of gender discrimination by the employer.

However, the names and scenarios I described were not drawn from a human example, but from AI. ChatGPT generated female candidates who were, on average, 1.6 years younger than their male counterparts and considered them less qualified than male applicants. Given AI’s pervasiveness in hiring decisions, these biases pose a significant concern.

Keep ReadingShow less
The Populist Left and Right Just Bought the Same Housing Policy
white and red wooden house miniature on brown table
Photo by Tierra Mallorca on Unsplash

The Populist Left and Right Just Bought the Same Housing Policy

At midnight on July 11, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act became law without a presidential signature, the largest housing statute since 1990. President Trump refused to sign it, dismissing it as "a big yawn" and holding it hostage to an unrelated voter-identification bill. The timing matters because the price it is meant to address keeps climbing: the median existing home sold for $440,600 in June, roughly 49 percent higher than in 2020. Democrats say Trump snubbed struggling families. Republicans call it a win for homeownership. Both are selling a law that will do far less than either claims.

Start with the provision everyone is talking about. Section 901, titled "Homes are for People, Not Corporations," bars large institutional investors, defined as entities controlling 350 or more single-family homes, from buying additional single-family houses. It is the populist centerpiece, the line that lets a Republican Congress and a Democratic minority both claim they stood up to private equity.

Keep ReadingShow less
Latino Voters Raise Alarms Over AI Data Centers’ Water, Energy, and Pollution Impacts

environmental justice

AI generated

Latino Voters Raise Alarms Over AI Data Centers’ Water, Energy, and Pollution Impacts

A new national poll finds Latino voters increasingly concerned about the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers — especially when those facilities are built near their communities. The survey, conducted by Blue Rose Research for Climate Power En Acción, shows strong opposition to data‑center development tied to rising utility costs, water shortages, and pollution.

According to the poll, 58% of Latino voters oppose building AI data centers near residential areas when the question is framed around higher electricity bills, compared to just 18% who support it. Concerns remain high even when the focus shifts to water usage: 56% oppose construction if it risks reducing local water supplies.

Keep ReadingShow less
© Copyright 2026