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The Drum Major Institute for Public Policy is an American progressive public policy institute founded during the Civil Rights Movement. Its primary focus is on the economic issues of the middle class, and the idea that government can be a force for good. It is under the leadership of its executive director Andrea Batista Schlesinger.

The Drum Major Foundation (later Institute) was founded in 1961 by Harry Wachtel, a New York City lawyer who was an advisor 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, William B. Wachtel (Harry's son) and Ambassador Andrew Young.

Dr. King often used the phrase "Drum Major Instinct" meaning the instinct to be a leader. In his famous speech 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.

The Institute was led from 2002 through 2004 by Fernando Ferrer, the former Bronx Borough President. Ferrer resigned from the Institute at the end of 2004 to run for Mayor of New York City. He won the democratic nomination for Mayor in 2005, but lost to Republican Michael Bloomberg.

As of 2006, the board of directors consisted of:

1. John Catsimatidis, Red Apple Group
2. Bruce Charash
3. Cecilia Clarke, Sadie Nash Leadership Project
4. Sandra Cuneo, Trial Lawyers Care
5. Rosanna M. Durruthy, Aequus Group
6. Stuart Feldman (investor), Chelsey Capital
7. Matthew Goldstein, City University of New York
8. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Waterkeeper Alliance
9. Martin Luther King III, Co-Founder, The King Center
10. Daniel T. McGowan, Health Insurance Plan of New York (HIP)
11. Chris McNickle, Greenwich Associates
12. Bernard Nussbaum, former White House Counsel, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
13. Morris Pearl, BlackRock
14. William B. Wachtel, Co-Founder, Wachtel & Masyr, LLP
15. Tom Watson (journalist), Changing Our World
16. Randi Weingarten, United Federation of Teachers
17. Melvyn I. Weiss, Milberg Weiss
18. Jennefer Witter, The Boreland Group Inc.
19. Ambassador Andrew Young, Chairman Good Works International, LLC
20. Andrew Young III, Young Solutions

• DMI Official page
• Blog authored by DMI fellows