Joel Richards is a Boston public school teacher, a pastor, and a father living in the heart of Dorchester with his wife, Madeligne, and their two children JC and Johan. Mr. Richards is a proud first-generation Jamaican-American, whose parents instilled in him the values of hard work and mutual care. He has spent his life working for the community and has both the personal and professional experience needed to get results for all our neighbors in Dorchester and the South End.

 

Mr. Richards has been a public school teacher for 15 years, he currently teaches at the Blackstone in the South End. He has personally witnessed how our school systems let down many of our students and how proper funding and teachers can uplift them. In addition, he has spent that time organizing with fellow educators in the Boston Teachers Union to get smaller class sizes, increased funding, and school staff that better reflect our students. As a founding chair of Boston Black Lives Matter At School, he pushed for restorative justice in our schools and was able to successfully work with the district to get a social worker placed in every school.

 

As a community advocate, Mr. Richards is a board member of Little Saigon where he works to support the vibrant and historic Vietnamese community in Dorchester. He also served as President of the Fields Corner Main Street where he planned and implemented community events and directly helped businesses navigate the chaos of COVID. In the aftermath of COVID and the long summer of 2020, Mr. Richards saw the need for Dorchester to come together in celebration of one another. That is why he founded and is still the head planner for the Dorchester Juneteenth Celebration. 

 

Mr. Richards is also a pastor where he delivers sermons across Boston preaching on the need to bridge divides and return to values of unity and justice. At his home church of Charles River, he is proud to have mentored many youth and continues to assist in building the church.

 

Mr. Richards has dedicated his life to the community - from the classroom, to the pews, to the streets. He has both the personal and professional experience needed to bring together all our neighbors in Dorchester and the South End with the goal of building a Boston for All.