Black Economic Justice Institute

The Black Economic Justice Institute (BEJI) was created in October 2012 because community advocates and activists saw the need for a voice regarding the unemployment and the under employment of Boston residents, people of color and females as it relates to construction and permanent jobs in the City of Boston. We took a stand against major construction companies and fought for compliance around the Boston Resident Job Policy (BRJP) ordinance. The BRJP ordinance states that there should be 50% Boston Residents, 25% people of color and 10% females. After protesting for over 200 days, our group of determined individuals partnered with the Boston Jobs Coalition to bring about a change to construction and permanent jobs. Since its inception, BEJI has worked with several organizations to help them bring attention to the un-justice of workforce development from East Boston to Roxbury. Along with the Boston Jobs Coalition we have won victories at the Airport, Chinatown Jamaica Plain and Roxbury. We fought and won Good Jobs Standards for Development that is going on in Roxbury and we are now working on a city-wide Good Job Standards campaign that will change the way the development process is conducted in Boston around construction and permanent jobs.