Thomas Callahan

Community organizer. Boston-based Yankees fan (but also Celtics) . Executive Director @fin_equity. North Adams native. Milton resident.

[melinda ribnek @MRibnek]

When Trump said "I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose any voters” yall didn’t think he’d do the dirty work of going into the actual street did you? He meant he’d sent his workers to do it and here we are.

[Partnership for Financial Equity @Fin_Equity]

“…the results offer insights into how financial institutions and regulators can build trust with unbanked households and promote greater financial inclusion.” Thank you @urbaninstitute for elevating our research on trust in banking among low-income households.

[Partnership for Financial Equity @Fin_Equity]

September 8th is the deadline to nominate your favorite bank-community partnership! $1,000 to three winners in the categories of #mortgagelending / #homeownership; #smallbusinesslending; and #bankingservices / #assetbuilding.
https://t.co/k0HkA9hiyf

[EU says Elon should not lie abt my blue check @emptywheel]

If you think Trump didn't target Cook because she's Black, if you think Trump or his aides don't imagine he'll get a more favorable hearing at SCOTUS for THIS firing than he would a Jerome Powell firing, you're covering for Trump's bigotry.

[Thomas Callahan @thomasmcallahan]

@AmyMcGrathKY Not cool

[James Martin, SJ @JamesMartinSJ]

I have a hard time believing that anyone would say, as @elonmusk did, "The fundamental weakness of Western civilization is empathy." In fact, the fundamental weakness is a lack of empathy.

Many years ago, a spiritual director told me that sympathy is understanding how you would feel suffering someone's misfortunates. Empathy is understanding how they feel. Compassion is being willing to suffer alongside them.

A lack of empathy is at the heart of our mistreatment (and mockery and growing hatred) of the poor, of migrants and refugees, of LGBTQ people, and of all those on the margins. It is not only a lack of imagination; it is also a fundamental lack of mercy towards those whom some consider "other."

One basis of contemporary Western civilization is capitalism. I'm a @Wharton grad and a capitalist. That means that I believe capitalism is the most efficient system of distributing goods and services to the most number of people. But it's not perfect. How do we know this? Just look at the millions of poor people around the world. What capitalism, the free-market system, laissez-faire economics and Adam Smith's "Invisible Hand" lack is a sense of empathy for those who are suffering. (They used to be called at Wharton the "transitional poor," as if, at some point, everyone would soon share in greater prosperity.) Empathy led us to create safety nets for those that capitalism fails. But now those nets are being shredded.

James F. Keenan, SJ, the moral theologian, once described compassion (which, from the Greek, means to suffer or experience with) as the willingness "to enter in the chaos of another person's life." This is what Jesus always did whenever he encountered someone who was seen as "other": a Roman centurion, a Samaritan woman, someone suffering from leprosy, anyone who was sick, the poor. Empathy, as well as compassion, were at the very heart of Jesus's public ministry.

This is also how we are called to live. The fundamental weakness of Western civilization is a lack of empathy.

As Jesus said, "Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice'" (Mt 9:13).

[MayorWu @MayorWu]

Shame on Tom Homan for lying about the City of Boston.

[CSPAN @cspan]

Boston @MayorWu: "Let talk about Tom Homan. Shame on him for lying about my city, for having the nerve to insult our police commissioner who has overseen the safest Boston's been in anyone's lifetime. Bring him here under oath and lets ask him some questions."

[America Magazine @americamag]

The ‘ordo amoris’ was never about loving less or more narrowly.
https://t.co/x5goWx3JVz

[WBZ | CBS News Boston @wbz]

MBTA Communities Law is constitutional, Massachusetts SJC rules, but current guidelines are unenforceable https://t.co/CCBYILRlJR

[Community Preservation Coalition @CPA_Coalition]

2024 was an incredible year for the #CommunityPreservationAct:

🏙️ 200 CPA cities and towns
💰 $3.4 Billion raised
🏘️ 32k housing units created & supported
🌳 37k acres of open space protected
🏛️ 7,600 historic preservation projects
⚽ 4,000 recreation projects

#happynewyear2025

[Partnership for Financial Equity @Fin_Equity]

It was President Jimmy Carter who signed the landmark Community Reinvestment Act into law in 1977, an enduring piece of a remarkable legacy. #financialequity

[The Boston Globe @BostonGlobe]

Milton's Select Board has hit the brakes on plans to put 35 affordable apartments on the final undeveloped acres of the town's farm, once a refuge for the homeless. https://t.co/moK155novq

[MAHA @mahahome]

If you are buying a home anywhere in Massachusetts today, you have to be resilient. Donald, a MAHA and STASH graduate, knows that better than most. He’s been dreaming of a white house with a white picket fence since he was 5 years old growing up in Roxbury. 🧵

[Partnership for Financial Equity @Fin_Equity]

Join us!

[Partnership for Financial Equity @Fin_Equity]

If you work for a community-based nonprofit focused on low-to moderate income households or are a banker who is responsible for Community Reinvestment Act compliance, join us Monday in Dorchester. Lunch provided but you must RSVP to [email protected].

[MAHA @mahahome]

MAHA was so proud to celebrate the launch of ONE+ on Monday! ONE+ will bring deeply discounted mortgage rates coupled with downpayment assistance to renters in the Gateway Cities, Framingham, and Randolph. @mhphousing @MassGovernor @MA_EOHLC

[melinda ribnek @MRibnek]

I consider myself to have a sound ability to analyze situations well. But I’ve also always been markedly optimistic, seeing the good in people always- unashamedly to a fault. I don’t think I let myself fully foresee an outcome that so many people could make such a categorically awful decision that would harm so many. I’m truly speechless that this is what this country has chosen, a leader so obviously devoid of any moral compass. God have mercy on us, and the entire world who will face disastrous consequences.

[Partnership for Financial Equity @Fin_Equity]

Our latest report. On the success of The Life Initiative and Property Casualty Initiative. Not scary at all. 🎃https://t.co/uwYxRTyfMn

[James Martin, SJ @JamesMartinSJ]

R.I.P. Gustavo Gutiérrez, the prophet who revolutionized Catholic theology for the poor.
https://t.co/XY2fn7J6Sl