 Malia Lazu, CEO and Co-Founder of Future Boston Alliance. Talking to activist and innovator Malia Lazu on the phone for the first time is akin to conversing with an old friend. Her personality is big and warm and her conversation is peppered with threads of altruism and a great big dash of hope.
The black, Puerto-Rican and Italian Emerson College Alum is the executive director and co-founder of Future Boston Alliance, an organization that advocates and supports the progressive and cultural growth of the city. One June 14, she will make an appearance on an all-female keynote panel at the 9th Annual Blueprint Conference for Girls organized by the Boston Chapter of the National Alumnae Association of Spelman College. This year’s theme #BlackGirlsMatter is in line with the nation’s highly publicized racial unrest that has culminated in the deaths of several black men and women by police. But the deaths and/or abuse of young black women doesn’t generate the same response as those of black men. Streets aren’t filled with thousands of protestors all over the nation when a black woman is raped or killed by police. The Washington Post reported on a rally that never materialized due to lack of participation over the death of Natasha McKenna who, after several days in a coma, died after being stunned multiple times with a Taser by cops. Rekia Boyd was shot to death by an off duty officer in Chicago and her death failed to stir the country’s interest like the deaths of Michael Brown, Eric Garner or Trayvon Martin. The women behind the Blueprint Conference want to show the more than 130 girls that registered for the conference that they do matter and that they are loved. For two days, conference participants will be surrounded by educators, activists and other students reinforcing this message through workshops, activities and lectures. Recently, Lazu—who has been profiled by The Boston Globe and Boston Magazine and has managed campaigns for Grammy Award-winner and civil-rights Activist Harry Belafonte and novelist Walter Mosley—took some time to share her thoughts on leadership, activism and why conferences like these matter. |
