Drum Major Institute
Encyclopedia
The Drum Major Institute for Public Policy (DMI) is a non-profit American
progressive
public policy institute
founded during the Civil Rights Movement
. According to its website, DMI provides "ideas that fuel the progressive movement." It is headquartered in New York City
.
by Harry Wachtel, a New York City
lawyer who was an adviser to Martin Luther King Jr.. The organization became more or less defunct for several years after King's death but was relaunched in 1999 by Martin Luther King III
, Harry Wachtel's son William B. Wachtel and Andrew Young
. Its primary focus is on the economic issues of the middle class
and the idea that government can be a force for good.
Dr. King often used the phrase "drum major
instinct" meaning the instinct to be a leader. In his sermon at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia
, on February 4, 1968 he said: "If you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice, say that I was a drum major for peace, say that I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter... I just want to leave a committed life behind." A paraphrased version of this phrase is inscribed on the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C.
The director of the institute from 2002 through 2004 was Fernando Ferrer
, the former Borough
president of the Bronx
, who resigned from the Institute at the end of 2004 to run for mayor of New York City
. From 2004 through 2010, Andrea Batista Schlesinger
was the Institute's executive director. PJ Kim has been Executive Director since 2010.
policy, combating Tort reform in the United States, and, more generally, policies that they feel benefit the middle class
. Publications include:
DMI's Civil Justice Fellowship, originally called the Milberg Weiss Fellowship because it was funded by the indicted plaintiffs' law firm Milberg Weiss
, was created to oppose tort reform
. Though no longer funded by Weiss, the fellowship still exists, and the Civil Justice Fellow is primarily responsible for maintaining the Drum Major Institute's TortDeform website and contributing to the push for the end of tort reform.
Since 2002, the Drum Major Institute has hosted a series of discussions called the Marketplace of Ideas, promoting legislatures who have succeeded in enacting various policies that the Institute supports including:
The DMIBlog public policy blog is written by DMI staff, Fellows and invited guests.
, DMI interviewed mayors across the country on urban issues.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
progressive
Progressivism in the United States
Progressivism in the United States is a broadly based reform movement that reached its height early in the 20th century and is generally considered to be middle class and reformist in nature. It arose as a response to the vast changes brought by modernization, such as the growth of large...
public policy institute
Think tank
A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
founded during the Civil Rights Movement
Civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
. According to its website, DMI provides "ideas that fuel the progressive movement." It is headquartered in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
History
The Drum Major Foundation (later Institute) was founded in 1961 during Civil Rights MovementCivil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
by Harry Wachtel, a New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
lawyer who was an adviser to Martin Luther King Jr.. The organization became more or less defunct for several years after King's death but was relaunched in 1999 by Martin Luther King III
Martin Luther King III
Martin Luther King III is an American human rights advocate and community activist. He is the eldest son and oldest living child of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King. His siblings are Dexter Scott King, Rev. Bernice Albertine King, and the late Yolanda Denise...
, Harry Wachtel's son William B. Wachtel and Andrew Young
Andrew Young
Andrew Jackson Young is an American politician, diplomat, activist and pastor from Georgia. He has served as Mayor of Atlanta, a Congressman from the 5th district, and United States Ambassador to the United Nations...
. Its primary focus is on the economic issues of the middle class
Middle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
and the idea that government can be a force for good.
Dr. King often used the phrase "drum major
Drum Major
A drum major is the leader of a marching band, drum and bugle corps, or pipe band, usually positioned at the head of the band or corps. The drum major, who is often dressed in more ornate clothing than the rest of the band or corps, is responsible for providing commands to the ensemble regarding...
instinct" meaning the instinct to be a leader. In his sermon at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, on February 4, 1968 he said: "If you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice, say that I was a drum major for peace, say that I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter... I just want to leave a committed life behind." A paraphrased version of this phrase is inscribed on the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C.
The director of the institute from 2002 through 2004 was Fernando Ferrer
Fernando Ferrer
Fernando James "Freddy" Ferrer was the Borough President of The Bronx from 1987 to 2001, and was a candidate for Mayor of New York in 2001 and the Democratic Party nominee for Mayor in 2005.- Background :...
, the former Borough
Borough (New York City)
New York City, one of the largest cities in the world, is composed of five boroughs. Each borough now has the same boundaries as the county it is in. County governments were dissolved when the city consolidated in 1898, along with all city, town, and village governments within each county...
president of the Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
, who resigned from the Institute at the end of 2004 to run for mayor of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. From 2004 through 2010, Andrea Batista Schlesinger
Andrea Batista Schlesinger
Andrea Batista Schlesinger was until 2009 the Executive Director of the Drum Major Institute. In February 2009, she took a leave from that position to work as a policy adviser to the re-election campaign of Mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg.-Background:Andrea was born and raised in...
was the Institute's executive director. PJ Kim has been Executive Director since 2010.
Policy focus areas
According to its website, The Drum Major Institute focuses on a few main areas: immigrationImmigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
policy, combating Tort reform in the United States, and, more generally, policies that they feel benefit the middle class
Middle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
. Publications include:
- Principles for an Immigration Policy to Strengthen and Expand the Middle Class
- Saving Our Middle Class: A Survey of New York's Leaders
- Scorecards for the United States CongressUnited States CongressThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
and the New York LegislatureNew York LegislatureThe New York State Legislature is the term often used to refer to the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York. The New York Constitution does not designate an official term for the two houses together...
which grade elected officials on their votes relating to issues that DMI perceives as being important to achieving a middle class standard of living.- As an example of rating, in 2009, their company, themiddleclass.org, gave Representative Barney FrankBarney FrankBarney Frank is the U.S. Representative for . A member of the Democratic Party, he is the former chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and is considered the most prominent gay politician in the United States.Born and raised in New Jersey, Frank graduated from Harvard College and...
a rating of 96%.
- As an example of rating, in 2009, their company, themiddleclass.org, gave Representative Barney Frank
DMI's Civil Justice Fellowship, originally called the Milberg Weiss Fellowship because it was funded by the indicted plaintiffs' law firm Milberg Weiss
Milberg Weiss
Founding and HistoryFounded in 1965 by attorneys Larry Milberg and Melvyn I. Weiss, Milberg LLP is a U.S. plaintiffs' law firm...
, was created to oppose tort reform
Tort reform
Tort reform refers to proposed changes in common law civil justice systems that would reduce tort litigation or damages. Tort actions are civil common law claims first created in the English commonwealth system as a non-legislative means for compensating wrongs and harm done by one party to...
. Though no longer funded by Weiss, the fellowship still exists, and the Civil Justice Fellow is primarily responsible for maintaining the Drum Major Institute's TortDeform website and contributing to the push for the end of tort reform.
Since 2002, the Drum Major Institute has hosted a series of discussions called the Marketplace of Ideas, promoting legislatures who have succeeded in enacting various policies that the Institute supports including:
- San Francisco's mandatory paid sick leave law.
- ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
's Green Roofs initiative. - MaineMaineMaine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
's prescription drug program - San Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
's criminal recidivism reduction program - MinnesotaMinnesotaMinnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
's public subsidy accountability initiative - OklahomaOklahomaOklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
's universal preschool.
The DMIBlog public policy blog is written by DMI staff, Fellows and invited guests.
DMI Fellows Program
The DMI Fellows program, involves activists and advocates who are interested in contributing to the policy conversation. DMI's Fellows collaborate with DMI staff to produce policy analysis based on their experiences and research.MayorTV
As part of a joint project with the magazine The NationThe Nation
The Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...
, DMI interviewed mayors across the country on urban issues.