Lee Pelton Says He Will Use His New Role At Boston Foundation To Address City Inequities

Outgoing Emerson College President Lee Pelton said he will use his new role as the next president and CEO of The Boston Foundation to address racial inequities in the city.

Pelton will begin his tenure at the philanthropic organization in June, after nearly 10 years leading Emerson College. He told Boston Public Radio on Wednesday this next chapter in his career will allow him to continue his work on social justice issues and civic service, as Boston's inequities have been placed in stark relief by the pandemic and the national racial reckoning following the police killing of George Floyd earlier this year.

"We're still living in the shadow of a triple pandemic: COVID-19, economic devastation and also this exposure of systemic and structural inequities here and elsewhere," he said. "However, it is my belief that our principal focus right now should be seeing through the lens of racial equity, or inequity. That's where we need to focus our attention."

Pelton cited figures from 2015 that show a staggering wealth gap in Boston between white families — who had a median wealth of around $225,000 — and Black families, who had a median wealth of $8.

"We are a city that's divided by resources and wealth, and so that's where we need to begin our work," said Pelton. "The fact that there's such an enormous gap between net worth for white families and Black families, that is not a single event. ... What that suggests is there's something in our culture, our environment, our laws, our policies, that contribute to making that gap without making progress."

In a letter to the Emerson community, Pelton wrote that this moment provides an opportunity to enact big change.

"We must not let this moment pass without also working to strengthen cradle-to-college education, improve access to health care, close income gaps, create access to quality jobs, combat ableism, protect the rights of immigrants, and so much more," he wrote.

Pelton served as Emerson College's first Black president and will be The Boston Foundation's second Black president.