King was the first black person to make it to a general ballot box as a candidate for Boston mayor.
Former South End State Rep. Mel King died Tuesday at his home at the age of 94. John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe
In 1983, former South End state representative Mel King became the first black person to make it to the general ballot box as a candidate for Boston mayor.
King, who died at his home on Tuesday morning at the age of 94, will be remembered for his historic achievement The Boston Globesaid to herald “a new era” of race relations in Boston.
Photos of King over the past 60 years show the myriad ways he made a positive impact on the city throughout his life and how he remained a key voice in city politics long after his defeat as mayor.
Mel King before his historic mayoral campaign:
Mel King, who ran an employment agency for local teenagers, is pictured in his office in the United South End Settlements in South Boston on July 26, 1963. – The Boston GlobeBoston School Committee nominee Mel King speaks during a debate at the WGBH TV studios in Boston on October 26, 1965. – The Boston GlobeMassachusetts State Assemblyman Mel King addresses a crowd of anti-nuclear demonstrators during a protest in Plymouth on June 3, 1979. – The Boston GlobeMassachusetts State Senator Bill Owens and State Rep. Mel King sit during a news conference in which Owens endorsed King in his candidacy for mayor of Boston August 6, 1979 at the Massachusetts State House in Boston. – Bill Curtis/The Boston GlobeBoston mayoral candidate Mel King stands at the podium with his wife Joyce during a rally at the Bradford Hotel in Boston September 25, 1979. – The Boston Globe
Mel King during his historic mayoral campaign:
Chicago Mayor Harold Washington and Boston mayoral candidate Mel King at a rally outside Prince Hall in Roxbury in August 1983. – The Boston GlobeMel King marching in the Columbus Day Parade in the North End in October 1983. – Joe Dennehy/The Boston GlobeMelvin “Mel” H. King celebrates at the Parker House in Boston on October 11, 1983 after discovering he had made it to the final round of the Boston mayoral election. — Wendy Maeda/The Boston GlobeBoston mayoral candidates Mel King and Ray Flynn debate at the Old South Church on November 7, 1983. – John Blanding/The Boston GlobeBoston mayoral candidates Ray Flynn and Mel King cross paths on November 9, 1983 in East Boston. —George Rizer/The Boston Globe
Mel King after his historic mayoral campaign:
Mel King waves to the crowd on Boston Common during an anti-nuclear weapons rally in 1984. —John Tlumacki/The Boston GlobeFormer mayoral candidate Mel King speaks in his office at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge on October 9, 1984 about the record of Boston Mayor Ray Flynn’s administration to date. – The Boston GlobeMel King at MIT, where he taught Urban Studies in 1988. — Yunghi Kim/The Boston GlobeFormer Massachusetts State Assemblyman Mel King has his hat adjusted by a friend at the opening of the Democratic National Convention in Atlanta July 18, 1988. – The Boston Globe
Mel King’s later years:
Byron Rushing, Mel King and Darryl Settles speak during a Black History Month community forum held at Darryl’s Corner Bar and Kitchen in Boston in 2013. – Aram Boghosian/The Boston GlobeMel King appears for a arraignment after she was arrested during a protest outside Boston City Court on October 3, 2013. —Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston GlobeFormer Boston Mayor Marty Walsh stands with Mel King outside Tent City in Boston as King announced his support for Walsh during Walsh’s campaign for mayor in 2013. – Aram Boghosian/The Boston GlobeFormer Boston mayoral opponents Ray Flynn and Mel King discuss their friendship and collaboration to teach school children about democracy and civic engagement on September 6, 2016. — Pat Greenhouse/The Boston GlobeFormer state legislator Mel King speaks at a ceremony at the entrance to South Boston’s Marine Industrial Park to dedicate a sign honoring former Boston Mayor Ray Flynn in 2016. —John Tlumacki/The Boston GlobeMel King is honored by former Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, who announced he would be naming a street after King during the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Breakfast in 2017. —Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston GlobeKing at his dedication ceremony to name a new plaza in Boston’s South End after him in November 2021. – Jonathan Wiggs/The Boston Globe
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