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| The '''Drum Major Institute for Public Policy''' is a ] ] ] public policy ] founded during the ]. Its primary focus is on the economic issues of the ] and the idea that government can be a force for good. | The '''Drum Major Institute for Public Policy''' is a ] ] ] public policy ] founded during the ]. Its primary focus is on the economic issues of the ] and the idea that government can be a force for good. | ||
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The Drum Major Institute for Public Policy is a non-profit American progressive public policy institute founded during the Civil Rights Movement. Its primary focus is on the economic issues of the middle class and the idea that government can be a force for good.
History
The Drum Major Foundation (later Institute) was founded in 1961 during Civil Rights Movement by Harry Wachtel, a New York City lawyer who was an advisor to Martin Luther King Jr.. The organization became more or less defunct for several years after King's death but was relaunched in 1999 by Martin Luther King III, Harry Wachtel's son William B. Wachtel and Andrew Young.
Dr. King often used the phrase "Drum Major Instinct" meaning the instinct to be a leader. In his famous speech at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, on February 4 1968 he said: "If you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice, say that I was a drum major for peace, say that I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter... I just want to leave a committed life behind."
The director of the institute from 2002 through 2004 was Fernando Ferrer, the former Borough president of the Bronx, who resigned from the Institute at the end of 2004 to run for mayor of New York City. Since 2004, Andrea Batista Schlesinger has been the institute's executive director.
Policy focus areas
The Drum Major Institute focuses on a few main areas: immigration policy, combating Tort reform in the United States, and, more generally, policies that they feel benefit the middle class. The DMI has has published reports such as "Principles for an Immigration Policy to Strengthen and Expand the Middle Class," "Saving Our Middle Class: A Survey of New York's Leaders," scorecards for the United States Congress and the New York Legislature which grade elected officials on their votes relating to these matters.
DMI's Civil Justice Fellowship, originally called the Milberg Weiss Fellowship because it was funded by the indicted plaintiffs' law firm Milberg Weiss, was created to oppose tort reform. The Civil Justice Fellow is primarily responsible for maintaining the Drum Major Institute's TortDeform website and contributing to the push for the end of tort reform.
Since 2002, the Drum Major Institute has hosted a series of discussions called the Marketplace of Ideas, promoting legislatures who have succeeded in enacting various policies that the Institute supports. A "Lessons from the Marketplace" report highlights four initiatives: Maine's prescription drug program, San Francisco, California's criminal recidivism reduction program, Minnesota's public subsidy accountability initiative, and Oklahoma's universal preschool.
The DMI Fellows program, involves activists and advocates who are interested in contributing to the policy conversation. DMI's Fellows collaborate with DMI staff to produce policy analysis based on their experiences and research. DMI's Fellows are:
- Ezekiel Edwards, criminal justice fellow, The Innocence Project
- Andrew Friedman, language access and immigrant justice fellow, Make the Road by Walking
- Mark Winston Griffith, community development and economic opportunity fellow, Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project
- Maureen Lane, welfare policy and higher education fellow, Welfare Rights Initiative at Hunter College
- Adrianne Shropshire, workers rights and community development fellow, New York Jobs with Justice
The Institute also runs the DMIBlog public policy blog, written by DMI staff, Fellows and invited guests. Former guests have included Amber Sparks of Grocery Workers United, Heather Boushey of the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, and Omar Freilla of the Green Worker Cooperatives, among many others. DMIBlog posts range in topic from immigration to urban policy to workers' rights issues.
References
- Milberg Weiss press release, 9 May 2006
- DMI Fellows program