Question 1: Racial Disparities in School Discipline

Question 2: Teacher Representation

Question 3: Racial Disparities in Arrests

Question 4: Racial Disparities in Home Loans

The Fifth Middlesex Senate Candidate Racial Justice Forum is a collaborative, non-partisan voter education initiative co-hosted by the Mystic Valley Area Branch of the NAACP, Fighting for Black Lives in Our Neighborhood – Melrose (FBLN), and the League of Women Voters of Winchester.

The forum centers on four data-grounded policy areas critical to civil rights and systemic equity across the Commonwealth and district municipalities (including Malden, Melrose, Reading, Stoneham, Wakefield, and Winchester):

• School Discipline Disparities (13-year trend data from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education)

• Educator Diversity and Representation (DESE educator workforce profiles)

• Law Enforcement & Arrest Disparities (19-year reporting data from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security)

• Mortgage Lending and Black Homeownership (19-year Home Mortgage Disclosure Act lending records)

All candidates were invited to participate under identical guidelines, receiving background datasets in advance to provide detailed, actionable proposals on how they intend to advance racial justice and measure progress if elected.