2002annual report

DR

UM

MA

JOR

INSTITUTE

FOR

PUBLIC

POLICY

1get ou

t in fron

t

Som

e wonder w

here the Drum

Major Institute, a progressive think tank

intended to offer competition in the m

arketplace of ideas and public policy form

ation, got its name.

When I w

orked in the trenches of the civil rights movem

ent with D

r. Martin

Luther K

ing, he would ask people to stand up and be “drum

majors.” T

hey didn’t need to lead the m

ovement, they needed to set the beat for it. In fact,

in his final sermon at the E

benezer Baptist C

hurch on February 4,1968, Martin

said that “If you want to say that I w

as a drum m

ajor, say that I was a drum

major for justice; say that I w

as a drum m

ajor for peace; say that I was a drum

major for righteousness. A

nd all of the other shallow things w

ill not matter…

I just w

ant to leave a comm

itted life behind.”

In some w

ays, the challenges then were clearer: w

hole comm

unities were disen-

franchised and unprotected against discrimination by the letter of the law

.R

acism w

as prevalent in the language of pro-segregationists,and fears w

ere exploited by politicians on a regular basis.T

hose concerned with social change took to the streets, and

to the courts, to fight for justice.

Today, the challenges are stronger than ever. More than

one in ten Am

ericans live in poverty, itself defined by anem

barrassingly outdated standard, and wealth is increasingly concentrated in

the hands of the very few. M

illions of Am

ericans remain disenfranchised at

the ballot box, our public schools are failing so many children w

ho come from

poor families w

ith no other options, and city leaders pass the homeless and

the working fam

ilies who can’t afford health insurance on their w

ay to pressconferences explaining w

hy taxes on our wealthiest citizens sim

ply cannot be raised.

Yet now

the battles for economic and social justice take place in a different

realm: on the editorial pages, in the reports that reach the desks of our legisla-

tors, in the realm of ideas. A

report by the National C

omm

ittee for Responsive

Philanthropy found that, from 1990

to 2000, the top 20conservative think

tanks in our country spent $1 billion to influence public opinion and thought.A

s Paul Krugm

an writes in a recent N

ew Y

ork Tim

esm

agazine story called“For R

icher”: “The point is that it is no accident that strongly conservative

views, view

s that militate against taxes on the rich, have spread even as

the rich get richer compared w

ith the rest of us: in addition to directly buyinginfluence, m

oney can be used to shape public perceptions.”

While m

any progressives are doing the work to keep the dream

alive for thosew

ho live on the margins—

from providing direct services to advocating for

Get O

ut in Front L

etter from the C

hairman, A

mbassador A

ndrew Y

oung

Our M

issionThe Drum

Major Institute for Public Policy is a non-partisan,non-profit

organization dedicated to challenging the orthodoxies thatimpede the

achievementof social and econom

ic justice.We operate in the spiritof

the civil rights movem

entwith the goal of fostering courageous leadership,

informed citizens,and sound public policy.Energized by the nationally

recognized leadership of Fernando Ferrer,the Institute’s new president,w

e are com

mitted to adding a rigorous progressive voice in the m

arketplace of ideas.

Originally called The Drum

Major Foundation,DM

I was founded by H

arryW

achtel,lawyer and advisor to Rev.Dr.M

artin Luther King,Jr.during the turbulentyears of the civil rights m

ovement.The nam

e comes from

a recurring them

e of Dr.King’s,bestillustrated in a sermon delivered atthe

Ebenezer BaptistChurch shortly before his assassination.

Like Dr.King himself,the Drum

Major Foundation soughtto setthe beat

for the movem

entfor civil rights.The goal of the foundation was to prom

oteour nation’s dem

ocratic values by eliminating the injustices rooted in

ignorance or repression of those values.Itprovided vital assistance to them

ovementthrough fundraising,strategy developm

ent,and legal support.The Foundation played a role in the passage of the Civil Rights Actof 1964and the Voting Rights Actof 1965.

DMI w

as relaunched in 1999 by New

York attorney Bill Wachtel,H

arry’s son,and M

artin Luther King III.The Institute organized several highly successfulforum

s with prom

inentAmericans on the m

ostimportantissues facing us

today:poverty,educational equity,and the digital divide.

Today,the Drum M

ajor Institute for Public Policy offers policymakers and the

media an alternative to the conservative think tanks and policy institutes

thatcurrently dominate the landscape.W

e create much-needed opportunities

for progressive thinkers to share their ideas for better policies.And we offer

our assistance to legislators who w

ish to implem

entthese ideas by providinginsightful research and facilitating expertconversations.O

ur ultimate goal

is to create meaningful social change through justpublic policy.

board of directorsAm

bassador Andrew Young

Chairman

Good W

orks International,llc

Martin Luther King,III

Co-FounderSouthern Christian LeadershipConference

William

B.Wachtel

Co-FounderW

achtel& Masyr,llp

John Catsimatidis

Red Apple Group

Sandra CuneoTrial Law

yers Care

Matthew

GoldsteinCity U

niversity of New

York

RobertF.Kennedy,Jr.W

aterkeeper Alliance

John McConnell

Wachtel& M

asyr,llp

Bernard Nussbaum

Wachtell,Lipton,Rosen & Katz

Dennis Rivera1199/SEIU

New

York

Andrew Young,III

Fernando FerrerPresident

Andrea Batista SchlesingerExecutive Director

From 1990 to 2000,the top 20

conservative think tanks in our country spent$1 billion to influencepublic opinion and thought.

“DM

I will offer a m

uch needed resource to N

ew Y

ork’s policymakers coping w

ith a profound fiscal crisis.” –C

arol O

’Cleireacain

Senio

r Fellow

,The B

roo

king

s Institu

tion

cover photo:Rev. D

r. Martin L

utherK

ing visiting the Fire Island home of

Harry W

achtel, Drum

Major Foundation

founder, in 1967.

dm

i 2002 Accom

plishments

A Unique Approach to Influencing Public Policy

• We partner w

ith top researchers, locally and nationally, to conduct high-quality research.

• We leverage our strategic connections and rich history

to engage policy and opinion makers in our w

ork.

• We offer platform

s to amplify the w

ork of progressive practitioners and thinkers.Im

pact:The Year in Review

Moved the issue of relationships

between com

munities and

schools from periphery to center

to improve schools

DM

I is in the midst of an intensive policy

study, “From G

overnance to Accountability,”

an effort to reframe the school governance

debate from the m

erits of top-down control

to how to restore the critical relationships

between schools and their com

munities. W

ebegan a panel discussion in June and w

ill continue through briefings w

ith legislators,advocates, and the private sector beforereleasing the paper w

ith the NY

U Institute for

Education and Social Policy in D

ecember.

3get ou

t in fron

t

“I’ve known Freddy Ferrer for years as a public

servant, and I’m thrilled that he’s continuing his

comm

itment to social justice by leading the

Drum

Major Institute.”—

Ru

th M

essing

er,Presiden

t,A

merican

Jewish

Wo

rld Service

UFT

President R

andi Weingarten and A

ssemblym

an Roger

Green at D

MI’s June forum

: “School Governance: From

theR

elationship Up.”

2dru

m m

ajor institu

te for public policy

individual pieces of legislation to accomplish goals like raising the m

inimum

wage—

we are losing larger battles in the court of public opinion. L

osing thosebattles m

eans that we are unable to com

municate our m

essage, and thereforecannot inspire the public w

ill that leads to change in the policymaking arena.

I talk to progressives from all over the country w

ho tell me that they are

always playing catch up, responding to the exclusive vision prom

oted by theright. W

e can’t afford to play catch up any longer. We’ve got to get out

in front.

When I w

as a young man w

orking with D

r. King, H

arry Wachtel and a group

of New

York law

yers got out in front of the movem

ent for civil rights byform

ing the Drum

Major Foundation. H

eeding Dr. K

ing’s call to be “drumm

ajors for justice,” it provided vital assistance to the movem

ent throughfundraising, strategy developm

ent, and legal supportfor the C

ivil Rights A

ct of 1964and the V

oting Rights

Act of 1965.

After M

artin’s death, the Institute fell into disrepairlike m

any of the organizations created during them

ovement. B

ut in 1999, the sons of Harry W

achteland R

ev. Dr. M

artin Luther K

ing relaunched it toinspire conversation around the critical questions

of equity and access. Fernando Ferrer, the new president of D

MI, has gotten

out in front by continuing the work that guided his nationally-recognized

career in public office. Mem

bers of our Advisory B

oard, including Bill B

radleyand B

ob Kerrey, and m

y fellow board m

embers, including D

ennis Rivera and

Bernard N

ussbaum, all recognized that w

e need to get out in front. There is

no more im

portant time to have a conversation w

ith alternative voices.

I’m proud of the w

ork that the organization, refocused as the Drum

Major

Institute for Public Policy, has accomplished in less than a year in its new

incarnation. From rebuilding the organizational identity, launching a dynam

icw

eb site with original content, organizing im

portant conversations designed to provide a platform

to progressive thinkers who too often go w

ithout one,m

aking an impact on our editorial pages and on the debate over school gover-

nance, initiating several important collaborations w

ith top researchers to produce analysis that w

ill serve as tools for legislators to make progressive

policy, DM

I has shown that it is capable of getting out in front.

As V

ictor Hugo said, “T

here is one thing stronger than all the armies in the

world, and this is an idea w

hose time has com

e.” The tim

e for the Institute,and its role as a progressive voice to counter the conservative voices thatcurrently dom

inate the landscape, has come.

I hope you will join us as w

e continue to get out in front.

Andrew

Young

I talk to progressives from all over the

country who tell m

e thatthey are always

playing catch up,responding to the exclusive vision prom

oted by the right.W

e can’tafford to play catch up any longer.W

e’ve gotto getoutin front.

5get ou

t in fron

t4

drum

major in

stitute for pu

blic policy

“The D

rum M

ajor Institute combines a

belief in the value of a long term progres-

sive vision with the practical experience

of its President, Fernando Ferrer. Its

unique perspective will m

ake it an indis-pensable partner in crafting the kind of new

policy agenda that the City and

the nation so desperately needs.” —

Miles R

apopo

rtPresid

ent,D

emo

s

Turned our web site into online netw

ork of ideas and argum

ent,and a national resourcefor journalists,activists and legislators

We com

pletely overhauled our web site to include

original content from progressive thinkers on issues

from voting rights to building affordable housing

as well as our ow

n regularly updated Drum

Major

Institute Injustice Index. Our content is publicized

with m

onthly email blasts to our national netw

ork.

drumm

ajorinstitute.org

Contributed to the debate about school governance on our city’s editorial pages

To provide counterpoint to the emphasis on the

structure of the school board, DM

I redirected atten-tion on the editorial pages to the questions m

issingfrom

the dialogue: How

will governance reform

address the prevailing disconnect between schools

and their comm

unities? How

can we engage the

private sector and comm

unities of faith in theeffort to provide m

uch needed resources for ourpublic schools? A

fter the legislation is passed, what

happens next?

He paid the ultim

ate price to win

our right to vote.

Are you going to give that right aw

ay?

Keeping the dream

alive

If you don’t vote,

you don’t count.

If you don’t vote,

you don’t count. D

RU

MM

AJO

RIN

STITUTEFO

RPU

BLICPO

LICY

Provided a platform to progressive

thinkers who have put

their values into practice

In September 2002, D

MI launched an innovative

breakfast discussion series designed to highlightthinkers w

ith solutions to the challenge that face us.T

he first speaker was Steven B

ingler, nationally recognized for his innovations in com

munity-based

planning and design of school buildings. This dis-

cussion is especially relevant as New

York C

ity andother urban centers confront the need for m

assivenew

school construction and better ways of m

axi-m

izing our existing resources.

Organized successful benefit

with president clinton

President William

Jefferson Clinton presented

Am

bassador Andrew

Young w

ith the Drum

Major

Institute’s Living L

egends Aw

ard for his lifelong com

mitm

ent to social and economic justice.

Accepting the aw

ard were M

artin Luther K

ing III,C

o-Founder of the Institute, and Andrew

Young

III. In his address, Clinton said: “T

he work of

the Drum

Major Institute needs to becom

e a more

urgent priority for our nation.”

Launched “if you don’t vote,you don’t count”national psa cam

paign

The A

d Council officially endorsed D

MI’s “If

you don’t vote, you don’t count” public servicecam

paign to increase voter turnout. The PSA

ran on 23

network affiliated television stations reach-

ing four million hom

es across the United States,

and contributed to record turn-out in New

ark,Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. A

print version alsoran on the side of 120

public telephone kiosksthroughout N

ew Y

ork City.

Impact:The Year in Review

continued

September 26 launch of D

MI Speaker Series w

ith StevenB

ingler and Manhattan B

orough President C

. Virginia Fields

President C

linton presenting Drum

Major to A

ndrew Y

oung,Jr., w

ith Martin L

uther King, III, D

MI C

o-Founder Bill

Wachtel, and Fernando Ferrer.

7get ou

t in fron

t6

drum

major in

stitute for pu

blic policy

Contributors

“I am proud to be a founding sponsor and B

oard m

ember of the D

rum M

ajor Institute. I know that

Freddy Ferrer and the Institute can bring progressivestogether around an agenda for econom

ic justice.”

—D

enn

is Rivera,Presid

ent

Lo

cal 1199 SEIU

New

Yo

rk

FOU

NDERS CIRCLE

[$50,000 and above]W

illiam W

achtelD

ennis Rivera,SEIU 1199

Health Insurance Plan of G

reater New

York

BENEFACTO

RS [$25,000 - $49,999]PennsylvaniaM

anufacturers’Association

United Federation ofTeachers

SPON

SORS

[$10,000 - $24,999]W

ilbur BreslinJohn Catsim

atidisInsignia/ESG

,Inc.John and N

ancy Mulheren

New

York National Bank

Burton P.ResnickSEIU

32B-32JJam

es Sprayregen

PATRON

S [$5,000 - $9,999]AFSCM

EPeter D

avorenD

elcal Enterprises,Inc.Daniel KeatingM

annkraft CorrugatedPackaging & D

isplaysLenard and Fern TesslerD

onald Trump

Vesper FoundationEdw

ard Wenger

PARTNERS

[$1,000 – $4,999]N

ancy AronsonAutom

ated Wagering

InternationalW

illiam Beslow

Carver Federal Savings BankCentral Parking SystemAbe and Barbara Chehebar

FoundationChernoff D

iamond & Co.,llc

John ClarkCom

mercial Envelope

Manufacturing Co.,Inc.

Comm

unications Workers

of America

Earl G.G

raves Ltd.Con EdisonStuart Edelm

anFisher BrothersFood W

orld,Ltd.Robert ForanLaw

rence and JacquelynKam

inKorstein Veisz W

exler & Pollard

Levy,Ratner & BehrooziLouis and Barbara LiebhaberLocal 372 AFSCM

EChris M

cNickle

New

Britain Baseball Club,Inc.

New

York State Dem

ocratic Com

mittee

One Step U

pAlbert PanicciaPom

erantz Haudek Block

Grossm

an & Gross

Martin Rosenm

anJam

es RyanW

illiam Schur

Randolph SilversteinRandi Sim

onSteven TerkAlvin TrenkVitelli FoodsW

intonclyff ProtectiveServices

Judith Zabar

FRIENDS

[up to $1,000]ADM

Group,Inc.

Advent Capital Managem

entAssociated Builders and

Ow

nersRae Alexander-M

interRobert BerendBruce Brickm

anThe Cam

br CharitableFoundation

J.Emilio Carrillo and

Yvette Ortiz

Comm

unity PreservationCorporation

William

ConlonH

enry and Robin Daas

David & Shirley Fromer

FoundationStephen D

eangelisD

istrict Council 37O

lga Dom

inguezSilvia Elm

owitz

Mark Epstein

Ricardo and Patricia Fernandez

Robert and Louann Frome

Arie Genger

Gentile & D

icklerM

ichael Gill

Peter Ginsberg

Gordon Brothers Retail

PartnersM

arc Ian Gross

Jack and Bernice Hoffinger

David Hoffm

anH

.Thomas H

ogan,Jr.IBEW

Local 3Robert Jackm

anBuddy JohnsonM

arina P.and Stephen E.Kaufm

anSusan KrauseSteven LevyRenan M

azorraM

azorra Business ServicesDavid M

eitus and AngelaW

estwater

Thomas K.M

interW

illiam M

odellM

orrison & Foerster

New

York State Naral

FoundationZeva O

elbaum and John

Reichman

Jim O

’ReillyO

lshan Grundm

an Frome

& Rosenzweig

Jefrey Pollock and D

eborah Brown

Samuel and D

iane Ramirez

Louis RiosM

ichael SchaedleSharp CapitalJonathan SilvanN

athaniel SingerSouthern N

ew York

AssociationArthur SteinbergRoy SteinbockSw

idler Berlin ShereffFriedm

an FoundationTransport W

orkers Union,

Local 100U

ncle Nick’s Restaurant

Wavecrest M

anagement

TeamJerom

e Waxenberg

Wilbur W

ederKathryn W

yldeLori ZabarJay and Idyth Zim

bler

DM

I Board M

ember D

ennisR

ivera with A

nthony Watson,

CE

O of H

IP.

“The challenges to overcom

ing poverty in this nation are great. W

e need a voice in policymaking concerned

with m

aking budget policy that is just and equitable.”

—Sen

ator B

ill Brad

ley

Looking A

head G

etting Out in Front: 2003

If the year 2002show

ed us anything, it was a vacuum

of progressive ideas.D

MI’s goal for 2003

is to fill that void with a clear agenda inform

ed by thew

ork of top-tier thinkers and supported by a constituency of private sector leaders, labor unions, academ

ics and practitioners.

Improve schools by restoring critical relationships betw

een schools and com

munities.

• With the N

ational Center for Schools and C

omm

unities, DM

I is working to

catalyze a national effort that re-engages comm

unities of faith, particularly inurban, low

-income com

munities, to provide leadership to transform

isolatedattem

pts at school reform into next phase of civil rights m

ovement.

• We are w

orking with policym

akers, comm

unity organizations and the private sector in N

ew Y

ork City to m

ake schools and districts accountable for building the relationships w

ith parents and comm

unities that are critical totheir success.

Lead conversation on those mostdeeply affected by econom

ic hard times.

• With the N

ew School, D

MI w

ill produce research and facilitate conversationsthat ask: To w

hat extent is a fair balance, between carrying the burden of

financing government and benefiting from

its spending, critical to our long-term

economic stability?

• We w

ill organize a Speakers Series highlighting elected officials who have

governed by progressive values in times of fiscal distress w

ith success.

• We have com

missioned a study on the role of N

ew Y

ork City new

spapers in shaping public perceptions of class conflict.

Facilitate the creation of a progressive agenda for New

York City.• D

MI convened focus groups on public education, crim

inal justice, poverty,and civil and hum

an rights that demonstrated the need to articulate a long-

term vision for a progressive N

ew Y

ork City. D

MI w

ill lead the effort to develop a progressive agenda by uniting progressives w

ith message and

strategy experts.

We w

ill continue to expand our web site w

ith original content, produce and circulate our Injustice Index, organize Speakers Series events to highlight progressive thinkers and contribute to the editorial pages on issues of econom

icand social justice.

Fernando Ferrer with R

osannaD

urruthy of Vivendi U

niversalat N

ovember gathering.

8dru

m m

ajor institu

te for public policy

The intransigence of social problem

s shows that

the old policies have not been universally effective. W

e need to gather data, create long-term agendas

and coherently and effectively comm

unicate a different vision.

The D

rum M

ajor Institute for Public Policy asks for leadership and support to:

• sustain our projects, which w

ill make m

uch-need-ed contributions to debates about issues of social and econom

ic justice while identifying a

constituencyfor our w

ork.

• turn our web site into a thriving online netw

ork of ideas and argum

ent, and a national resourcefor journalists, activists, and legislators.

• increase and expand the Institute’s series of publicevents, providing m

icrophones to progressivethinkers from

across the country.

I look forward to the opportunity to w

ork with

you, and to lead the Drum

Major Institute as w

eturn your valuable contributions into im

pact.

Like D

r. King’s m

etaphorical drum m

ajor for justice and peace, w

on’t you get out in front?

Fernando Ferrer

The work of the D

rum M

ajor Institute is to sponsorfrank dialogue aboutthe problem

s facing us—in

areas of education and social and economic justice—

and cultivate solutions.We w

ill offer policymakers

and the media an alternative to the conservative

think tanks and policy institutes thatcurrently domi-

nate the landscape.We w

ill create much-needed

opportunities for progressive thinkers to share theirideas for better governance.W

e will offer our assis-

tance to legislators who w

ish to implem

enttheseideas,w

ith the goal of creating meaningful social

change and justpublic policy.

I wantto supportthe w

ork of the Drum

Major Institute.

Here is m

y tax deductible contribution of$..........................

made payable to the D

rum M

ajor Institute.

�� ��Please send m

e information on upcom

ing events.

NA

ME

AD

DR

ESS

CIT

Y

STATE

ZIP

PH

ON

E

FAX

EMA

IL

keeping the dream alive

“The w

ork of the Drum

Major Institute needs

to become a m

ore urgent priority for ournation.”

—Presid

ent W

illiam Jefferso

n C

linto

n

It is an honor to serve as President of the D

rum M

ajor Institute for PublicPolicy. M

y comm

itment to protecting and extending the gains of the civil

rights movem

ent is deeply personal; I was able to attend college because

of a scholarship created in honor of Dr. K

ing’s mem

ory, after his assassination.

In more than tw

o decades of public service work, I have seen that the dream

sof equality, fairness and justice that inspired the civil rights m

ovement

have not been wholly achieved. T

he problems of poverty, racism

and disen-franchisem

ent are still with us.

People are hungry for new approaches to public policy that are based on princi-

plesof fairness, justice and equality. Y

et, inserting a progressive viewpoint

into public debate is increasingly difficult. Policy institutes and think tanks on the other side of the political spectrum

are well funded, highly organized,

and media-friendly. Y

ou see them represented on the editorial pages and the

Sunday morning talk show

s. But m

ost importantly, you see those opinions

reflected in the making of policy.

Recently, the D

rum M

ajor Institute sponsored a series of focus groups invit-ing people in the forefront of social change to discuss broader issues of policy

formation. O

ver and over, participants expressed a need to change the term

s of the public policy debate and insertprogressive values. O

ver and over they lamented that the

demands of providing direct services and organizing grass-

roots actions leave them unable to do anything but react to

the actions of the right.

Clearly, there is a need for leadership for a progressive

agenda—expressed in a thoughtful and constructive m

anner. It is possible tocreate successful public policy based on values other than sm

all government

and the expansion of free markets. For fourteen years I had the privilege of

serving as Borough President of the B

ronx. During that period the B

ronx was

home to the largest urban rebuilding effort in the country, later recognized

by the National C

ivic League w

ith the prestigious All-A

merica C

ity Aw

ard.

The policy voices at the other end of the political spectrum

have had theadvantage in public discourse for a num

ber of years. While it is unfortunate

that progressives have been absent from the debate for so long, there is

opportunity here as well.

Get O

ut in Front Fernando Ferrer Joins the D

rum M

ajor Institute

The intransigence of social problems

shows thatold policies have not

been universally effective.We need to

comm

unicate a differentvision.

DR

UM

MA

JOR

INSTITUTE

FOR

PUBLIC

POLICY

110 East59th Street28th Floor N

ew York N

Y10022

tel 212.909.9663 fax 212.909.9493 drum

majorinstitute.org

“If you w

ant 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. A

nd all of the

other shallow things w

ill not matter.…

I just want to leave a com

mitted life behind.”

dr.m

artin lu

ther kin

g,jr.

ebenezer baptist ch

urch

february 4,1968