The Public Policy Project

Welcome from James

Hello all, James Trice here,

I want to personally thank you for visiting our web site. I challenge you to review the entire site in order to get a good sense about what we (Loren and I) do as The Public Policy Project.

I believe that 2008 will surely be a year of new beginnings; the country is engaged in a battle to decide its new leadership and direction. It appears that for the first time in history a person of color, specifically an African American has a real chance of being the leader of the “free world”. The country is also immersed in a war abroad to “bring democracy” to another nation, chastising it for the treatment of its citizens while engulfed in a war here at home about how it treats its own citizens.

I believe that true change happens from the bottom up, not from the top down. It has always been the organized oppressed masses who sparked change and laid the foundation on which people can stand against all forms of oppression.

During WWII, resistance movements sprung up all over the world opposed German conquest of the entire world; During the abolitionist movement, people stood up against African slavery in America from 1800 to 1864; During the anti-war movement, people stood up against the Viet Nam war from 1965 to 1975. And during the great Montgomery Bus Boycott, people stood up against discrimination in public transportation from 1955 to 1956.

El Hajj Malik Shabazz better known as Malcolm X said; “as long as you depend upon someone else to set you free you will never be free”. The oppressed masses must realize that they do have the power and the strength to stand against the tyrants that oppress them.

I firmly believe in the fundamental right of every human being to speak for themselves and be a part of every decision that affects them and I will continue to help individuals master policy decisions and policy advocacy. As the great Ella Baker said; “strong people don’t need strong leaders…all they need is themselves, one another and the will to persevere.”

James Trice
The Public Policy Project

Welcome from Loren

Greetings, Loren Niemi here, saying that I’m glad that you’ve found our site and have explored enough to arrive at this blog! If you haven’t explored other parts of this site, I invite you to look around. We’ve tried to make this both easy to navigate and useful in giving you a sense of what James and I do.

I have spent most of my adult life working with non-profit organizations as a community organizer, manager or consultant. As the Grateful Dead say, “what a long strange trip it’s been.” But the truth be told, this work, The Public Policy Project, with its focus on assisting low-wealth individuals and people of color to utilize their inherent power to speak their truth and engage the decision-making systems that impact their lives, is the most satisfying work I have done.

As I write this, it is early 2008. An election year and hence, a year in which each and every one of us is invited to the national conversation about what kind of government we want. In the next few months, I will comment on some topics - health care, employment, housing, energy independence, etc. - that I think should be front and center in that conversation. Come back and see if you agree with me. If you do, act on that agreement in the campaign season and at the ballot box. If you don’t speak your own truth in the public square.

LN