Mel King’s social justice legacy
Inside the church — at the time a center of Boston’s Black community life — the Rev. Jesse Jackson came to rally a coalition of Black, Latino, Asian and progressive whites to maximize King’s vote in the November election against then-state Rep. Raymond Flynn.

South End candidates wrestle with inequality
Amparo “Chary” Ortiz, a lifelong resident who grew up in the Cathedral public housing development and who directs Boston University’s external relations department; and John Moran, a Scranton, Pennsylvania native who’s lived for 24 years in the South End and who is an associate director at the biotech firm Biogen.

Pressley pushes for abortion access
“There is no shame in seeking abortion care. There is no shame in having had an abortion. The only shame is there are unrelenting, coordinated forces at work to deny your access to that which is a fundamental human right, and that is health care,” Pressley said.

Plaintiffs, defense testify in redistricting case
Rasheed Walters, a resident of Dorchester and a freelance columnist for the Boston Herald, testified that the new district maps approved by Council members last year deprive him of his voting rights because, he claimed, the maps improperly dilute the power of the Black vote in his district.

Mel King: THE MEASURE OF A MAN
When I received the call from my good friend Mike King informing me his dad had left us after 94 years of life, I was hit with many emotions. But my sadness soon gave way to gratitude for the measure of this man we lost. As my young sons and their friends say: “This brother here! This leader here! This legend here!”.

Not a single ‘no’ vote
When elected officials ignore the will of the people, governing bodies lose their independence, and the fundamental right to local democratic control is stripped away? It’s been said that dissent is essential to the health of the body politic; that debate is the oxygen of democracy, its heartbeat in “yes” and “no” votes.

IN THE NEWS
Mayor Michelle Wu has announced Paul Chong’s appointment to serve as the city of Boston’s next registrar. As a key leadership role in the city’s People Operations Cabinet, the city registrar sets the policies, vision and strategy for access to vital records for the city of Boston.

Permanent Supportive Housing Grant Awards
Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation Executive Director Teronda Ellis addresses housing activists during Gov. Maura Healey’s announcement of this year’s Permanent Supportive Housing Grant Awards. The awards total more than $62 million in state and federal subsidies and additional state and federal tax credit allocations.

Will abortion be a wedge issue in 2024?
After the decision, she saw a surge in volunteering for get-outthe-vote initiatives. “More people said ‘yes’ to field organizers, to not just go out and vote, but also to volunteer, to write cards, knock on doors and to donate to many campaigns,” Srinivasaraghavan said.

Black professionals to gather next week
On Thursday and Friday, April 13 and 14, hundreds of Black professionals will gather at Collier’s annual summit at the Westin Copley Place hotel. The two-day summit will feature entrepreneurs, business leaders, DEI experts and students participating in keynote addresses and networking sessions focused on community, civic and corporate life in Boston.

How to manage and reduce inflation-related stress
Inflation may continue to show signs of slowing, however businesses nationwide are still grappling with increasing expenses, passing costs onto consumers, while over half (68%) have raised prices on select or all products and services, according to JPMorgan Chase’s 2023 annual Business Leaders Outlook (chase.

Students get schooled in financial literacy
Earlier this year, she began taking classes at Marcus Anthony Hall Educational Institute, a Lower Roxbury initiative that offers a program called “Money! Money! Money!” that encourages high school students to think seriously about saving, spending and managing money.

Communities of Color
Darrell Smith, Terrell Calloway, Michael King and Banner Editor/Publisher Ron Mitchell enjoy a moment last week at Hibernian Hall during the Communities of Color Community Thank You celebration, which honored elected officials. Attendees included Mayor Michelle Wu, Gov.

King’s children recall father’s wisdom, activism
After the city declared the New York Streets section a slum and leveled the homes and businesses there in the 1950s, King spent much of his life fighting the city’s wrecking ball and the forces of gentrification that over the decades forced out of the South End thousands of Black, Latino and working-class white families.

Opera trailblazer honored at NEC
The New England Conservatory honors alumna Mary Cardwell Dawson, a trailblazing Black opera singer, in a new portrait by Iris Lee Marcus that will be permanently displayed in NEC’s Blumenthal Family Library. Open to view by the public and the students, the portrait highlights the diverse and often overlooked history of the conservatory.

Told in Translation
Harper draws on his experience as a Black gay man to ruminate on love, loss, style, queerness and perseverance in this exhibit of sculptural works. Each of his pieces is covered in symbols, dots, lines, curves and staccato flicks of the brush.

RoxFilm tackles mountains and maternal health
The Roxbury International Film Festival (RoxFilm) continues its lineup of monthly programming as the festival approaches its 25th anniversary in June. This month’s program, “Going Outdoors While Black,” is a collection of shorts screening at the Museum of Fine Arts on Friday, April 14 at 7 p.