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Yale Activist in Residence Teaching “Race and Public Administration” at Seton Hall - Seton Hall University

Angelo Pinto, Esq., teaches a class at Seton Hall.

Activist in Residence for the Yale School of Public Health Angelo Pinto, Esq., a social movement and protest organizer, is teaching "Race and Public Administration" this semester.

Angelo Pinto, Esq., Activist in Residence for the Yale School of Public Health and a founding member of Until Freedom, is teaching "Race and Public Administration" at Seton Hall.

Last semester Professor Pinto taught "How to Create an Organization that Can Change the World" at Seton Hall. 

In this semester's class, "Race and Public Administration," students are exploring the relationship between public policies, government, social function, social maintenance, management and race. Professor Pinto explains that while the these topics are often studied in isolation to one another, to truly understand the function, effectiveness and impact of public administration one must understand its relationship to race – and that impact along racial demographics.

"Disparate impact – whether consciously wrought or otherwise – is an empirical fact of many public policies and/or their administration," said Pinto. "By examining the implications of policy and administration through a race-based lens we can teach our students to be aware of – and mitigate – the so-called 'collateral consequences' of even seemingly race-neutral policies that can have a devastating impact on communities of color."

The course is designed to analyze the structural role of law and legislatures in public administration through a race-based lens as well as the impact of elected officials, judges, police, nonprofits, educational systems, social movements and protest.

As a social movement and protest organizer, Pinto has been instrumental in spearheading victories in New York's Raise the Age Campaign (ensuring that 16 and 17 year-olds are not housed in jail with adults nor automatically charged as adults); the NYPD 12 (officers who sued the NYPD over racial discrimination, featured in the full feature documentary Crime and Punishment); the Free Meek Mill Campaign; Justice for Breonna Taylor; and the George Floyd Justice Campaign, to name a few.

Named to the Black Enterprise 40 Under 40 and Ebony Magazine Power 100, Pinto is an NAACP Image Award winner who co-founded Justice League NYC, a task force of the Gathering for Justice – an organization started by global activist and entertainer Harry Belafonte. More recently, he co-founded Until Freedom, an intersectional social justice organization that was pivotal in the fight for Justice for Breonna Taylor and one of the key figures on the ground in Minneapolis, Minnesota during the George Floyd protests.

Headshot of Dr. Jamila T. Davis

Jamila T. Davis, Community Practitioner in Residence for the Center for Community Research and Engagement, co-facilitated the "How to Create an Organization that Can Change the World" class alongside Angelo Pinto.

Last semester, Pinto used his experience in social movement organization to teach "How to Create an Organization that Can Change the World" at Seton Hall. Sponsored by the Newark Office of Violence Prevention and Trauma Recovery the class was open to community members and was co-facilitated by Jamila T. Davis, Community Practitioner in Residence for Seton Hall's Center for Community Research and Engagement.

Guest presenters for the class included a number of pioneers and pathfinders in grassroot nonprofit management, including Andre "AT" Mitchell, New York City Czar of Gun Violence Prevention and the founder and executive director of Man Up!, Inc.; Syrita Steib, executive director and founder of Operation Restoration, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the support of women and girls impacted by incarceration; Rachel Noerlinger, a partner at Actum, a global public strategy firm where she leads strategic communications, crisis management, and specializes in public affairs and community engagement in electoral politics; Topeka K. Sam, founder and executive director of The Ladies of Hope Ministries, an organization whose mission is to help disenfranchised and marginalized women transition back into society through education, entrepreneurship, spiritual empowerment and advocacy and Lakeesha Eure, director of Newark's Office of Violence Prevention and Trauma Recovery, which was recently credited by Mayor Ras Baraka for the city's success in achieving the lowest homicide rate in 60 years.

"It's programs like these, open to the community, that bring our people together with a sense of civic engagement and purpose," said Eure, who is an LCSW. "We've been able to partner with Seton Hall to bring area residents and 'at risk' youth into a higher education setting and make real progress in the lives of real people in those communities. At the same time," she continued, "as I'm teaching courses within the Social Work program at Seton Hall, I'm able to bring my University students into the community where they can put into practice what they're learning in the classroom. In some ways, you could say we're fostering an exchange program between the University and the greater Newark community – and it's working."

Students of "How to Create an Organization that Can Change the World" were prepared for a "Social Shark Tank," where they pitched to judges their business plan for their nonprofit. This is the second year for "Social Shark Tank at Seton Hall," with last year's winner receiving $5,000 for a program, "Meet Her at the Gate," that provides support services for female returning citizens. 

The judges this year included Ann Marie Adamson, Executive Director at EmblemHealth; Ladonna Johns, Manager of the East Orange Mayor's Office of Employment and Training; Lakeesha Eure and Dr. Malik Small, Principal of the East New York Middle School of Excellence and New York State Commissioner of African American Education.

EmblemHealth awarded $5,000 to the winner, Jordan Stewart, who created "Soul Civics" to educate young people about the importance of civics, noting that "Civic engagement is all about taking responsibility for improving your community." The award will help Soul Civics maintain a partnership with Passaic County Technical & Vocational School, where it has worked with students to facilitate voting behaviors and a greater sense of community engagement.

"EmblemHealth is proud to support programming that seeks to inspire students in marginalized communities to civic engagement," said Ann Marie Adamson. "Civic engagement is a cornerstone of effective democracy and community wellbeing. Through Soul Civics, this young man has made major inroads in the engagement and activation of our youth. And, he did it without funding. I can't wait to see what he does with some funding."

The "Social Shark Tank" competition can be viewed here, with Jordan Stewart's presentation coming at approximately 1:11:30.

Categories: Education, Nation and World

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