The Life and Legacy of Mel King

This week Massachusetts lost a leader, activist, trailblazer, and icon of the fight for racial equity. Mel King’s resume reads like a training manual for how to make lasting social change. A lifelong civil rights activist and organizer, King started his political career as a state legislator. In 1983, King was the first Black candidate to advance to the final mayoral ballot in Boston. His campaign would later be emulated by Jesse Jackson and others throughout the US. After serving as a public figure, King later went on to teach in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at MIT and has inspired thousands of students to follow in his footsteps.

While all praise King for his accomplishments, I am equally impressed by how he responded to disappointment and adversity. In 1961, ‘63, and ‘65, King ran for and lost elections for a seat on the Boston School committee. Many would have stopped there. King did not. He learned from setbacks and went on to have a political career that few at the time thought possible. Both a fighter and a healer, King as much as anybody, enabled Boston to move beyond its past of racism and division to the great city it is today. 

I remain in awe of King’s life and take solace in the lives he touched and the learnings and legacy he leaves behind. Thank you, Mel. It is our turn now.