Explore Black Boston politics and African American, Latino and Asian support for office holders.
Black Boston Community Politics with Basic Black on TV and more..
January 2012 - Only one legislator of color holds a leadership position in the Massachusetts Congress. His name is Byron Rushing (in the photo).
He has been appointed Assistant Majority Leader by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. More info is available on the Massachusetts Legislature leadership page. Many in Black Boston think of him as a prominent, most knowledgeable griot of black history and culture.
If you are wondering what Governor Mitt Romney's relationship was with Black Boston political operators while governing from '03 to '07, consult anyone who served as a member of Massachusetts Black Legislative Caucus for starters. Willie Mae Allen is one who was elected then. Linda Dorcena Forry and Gloria Fox are in office now. Members of the Massachusetts Black Legislative Caucus hold opinions about Mitt Romney's relationships in Black Boston.
New Personal Political Moves Question Moral Authority
Massachusetts State democrat politicians get greedy, September 29, 2011: Boston Globe newspaper headline - "Senate kills five-year ban on taking casino jobs." read more
Why are there no Indian appointments to the State gambling commission? Massachusetts legislators are getting sticky fingers over casinos. Governor Patrick offered decent new Ethics Policy but this new Casino driven change makes a mockery of it. Democrats secretly changed these laws to position themselves for lucrative positions in the developing billion dollar Massachusetts casino industry. Why do white state legislators need to lobby and speak for Indians casino-operators?
This is Governor Deval Patrick's campaign kickoff speech MP3 download copy that got him elected to office a second term. Deval Patrick is the first African American governor of the state of Massachusetts.
Basic Black on channel WGBH 2 is a Boston gem. The television show series engage the audience about issues affecting blacks, African Americans, and minorities. Visit Basic Black online. All past shows can be viewed. New shows air live each week on Channel 2 and other cable stations.
Featured panelists are: Latoyia Edwards, NECN anchor; Phillip Martin, 89.7 WGBH Senior Investigative Reporter; the host is Callie Crossley and Kim McLaurin, author and adjunct professor at Emerson College appears on the show with special guests.
Boston has better black tv media than Raleigh, North Carolina. I think there is more ethnic media here than in Charlotte, North Carolina too. Well, DNC see you in 2012 down south.
REMEMBERING NOV 3, 2009 night of - the nerve of Boston's intellectual elite was captured that year, when editorial page authors of neighborhood-focused newspapers advised readers to VOTE for two African Americans, and one Latino candidate for three of four possible Boston City Council at-large open seats. Elections are over, and the winners have emerged. An African-American woman won an at-large seat on the Boston City Council for the first time ever. Close by in Newton, Massachusetts an African American male was elected Mayor - the first popular-elected black mayor in Massachusetts history!
Courtesy of the National Museum of American History
Smithsonian photographers created this composite image of the Star-Spangled Banner in 2004 from 73 separate photographs. The flag's large size (30-by-34 feet) prevented photographers from capturing it in one image while conservators worked on it in the specially-built conservation lab.
OBAMA'S MESSAGE TO BOSTON AND BEYOND in 2008, when George Bush was your President
"Black Boston politics, and all government politics for that matter, is about the control and redistribution of fixed limited resources, such as cash paid by citizens and businesses as taxes or fees, and the land and natural resources held by the governing authority" says ABB.
LABOR lined downtown streets to pay their respects to the Honorable Senator Edward Kennedy on August 27th at 4:15 p.m. His motorcade traveled the Big Dig highway tunnel system and surfaced near labor union members who assembled on Atlantic avenue. It rode past the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway where Ted Kennedy's personal investment initiated the building of greenway parks. In 1974, Bill Owens became the first African-American elected to the Massachusetts state Senate. Dianne Wilkerson was the first African American woman elected to the Massachusetts Senate. Running on the Democratic party ticket, she took office in 1993 and lost the 2008 Primary election by a bit over 200 votes to challenger Sonia Chang-Diaz.
The Honorable Edward Brooke, was the first African American to be elected by popular vote to the United States Senate when he was elected as a Republican from Massachusetts in 1966. In 1866, the first African-American legislators in New England were elected.
And, Ralph Martin was the first African-American elected (1992 to 2002) Suffolk County (Boston) district attorney while Andrea J. Cabral was elected in 2004 when she became the first Black female Sheriff of Suffolk County.
Among the current Boston City Council officeholders are two African Americans: Charles Yancey, Mattapan and Chuck Turner represents the Roxbury district.
As of December, 2008 - this information about black elected officials is NOT a complete accounting of the African Americans who have been elected to public offices in Massachusetts. Its close! But, you should Dig Deeper!! to get more history.
You could start by considering the Boston Banner Newspaper archives or call to speak to someone at the Banner that knows. The Banner is Boston's oldest black media source for news and information in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, we think?
The telephone number for the Massachusetts Black Legislative Caucus may change from one political election season to another. That's because of fluctuating changes in the legislative body. The House and Senate leaders can reassign office locations and committee responsibilities.
A HISTORY SHORT ABOUT BOSTON BLACK POLITICS - Ward 9 was home to Laurence Banks, Boston’s first black city councilor. Shag Taylor's drugstore on Tremont Street was the headquarters of Democratic politics in the black community going back to the days of Mayor James Michael Curley, noted the Boston Banner newspaper in its 11/20/08 issue.
video file: Deval Patrick, Massachusetts Governor endorses Senator Barrack Obama for President of the United States
On WGBH PBS Channel 2 some time ago: a 1hr 52minute (real player video) fea. Deval Patrick, when he was a former US Assistant Civil Rights Attorney. Its about "William Lloyd Garrison" and the abolition of slavery and the black Boston community network long ago.
The Niagara Movement 1905-1909, established a civil rights movement and led to the founding of the NAACP. (view more)
Dial up the Boston NAACP at (617) 438-5816.
Dial up BCIC - Boston's Black Community Information Center at (617) 216-1705.
Bruce Marks - stands up for the "average Joes." He has been chosen 2007 BOSTONIAN OF THE YEAR by the Boston Globe newspaper.
Viewofficial Massachusetts State Election Results including: Candidates, Ballot Questions, Current Voter Statistical Reports: stats, stats, stats.
\\The Governor// is head of the executive branch and serves as chief administrative officer of the state and as commander-in-chief of the Massachusetts' military forces. His or her responsibilities include preparation of the annual budget, nomination of all judicial officers, the granting of pardons (with the approval of the governor's Council), appointments of the heads of most major state departments, and the acceptance or veto of each bill passed by the Legislature. Several Executive Offices have also been established, each headed by a Secretary appointed by the Governor, much like the president's Cabinet.
The Governor may recommend new policies for Massachusetts, new legislation, and changes in the administration of departments that conduct the government from day to day. He or she has the power to order out the National Guard to meet domestic emergencies, and is Massachusetts chief spokesman with the federal government.
Results (unofficial) of the 2006 Race for Massachusetts Governor were: Democrat candidate Deval Patrick won with 1,230,065 votes. Republican candidate Lt. Gov Kerry Healy received 779,807 votes. Independent candidate Christy Mihos had 161,012 and Green Party candidate Grace Ross received 43,032 votes.
During the primary race for Governor, the state certified results were: Patrick received 452,229 votes; Gabrieli received 248,301, and Atty Gen Reilly received 211,031 votes.
January 2012 - Only one legislator of color holds a leadership position in the Massachusetts Congress. His name is Byron Rushing (in the photo). 
Basic Black on channel WGBH 2 is a Boston gem. The television show series engage the audience about issues affecting blacks, African Americans, and minorities. 
LABOR lined downtown streets to pay their respects to the Honorable Senator Edward Kennedy on August 27th at 4:15 p.m. His motorcade traveled the Big Dig highway tunnel system and surfaced near labor union members who assembled on Atlantic avenue. It rode past the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway where Ted Kennedy's personal investment initiated the building of greenway parks.
In 1974, Bill Owens became the first African-American elected to the Massachusetts state Senate. Dianne Wilkerson was the first African American woman elected to the Massachusetts Senate. Running on the Democratic party ticket, she took office in 1993 and lost the 2008 Primary election by a bit over 200 votes to challenger Sonia Chang-Diaz.
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