Lavette Coney

Lavette Coney is a lifelong resident of Roxbury, a historically Black and Brown neighborhood in Boston shaped by redlining, urban renewal policies, and decades of economic divestment. As a neighborhood association president, she addresses the enduring impacts of structural racism, including environmental hazards, displacement through gentrification, and persistent political disenfranchisement. Since 2016, she has served as a co-facilitator and former leader of WPCR, advancing community-centered strategies for racial equity and collective empowerment. Through her years of anti-racist organizing and scholarship, she emphasizes that racism is a systemic construct rooted in white supremacy that harms society as a whole and requires sustained structural change. Ms. Coney has delivered numerous presentations, workshops, and invited lectures on racial justice, community leadership, and critical pedagogy. Her scholarship appears in several academic journals and publications, including the most recent contribution to The Other Elephant in the Classroom, Chapter 4, 2023.