The ultimate prize, and a lasting legacy

There were more stories than just of political figures in the Banner’s fifth” decade.

But few more captivating. Most significant was the 2008 election of Barack Obama, a world-changer with roots in the Boston area where the future president attended Harvard Law School under the tutelage of Professor Charles Ogletree, who would also mentor the woman later to be his wife and keen adviser, Michelle Robinson.

The election of an African American leader by a majority white populace was presaged two years earlier with Deval Patrick’s victory in the Massachusetts governor’s race. And as more than a curiosity, it was echoed in Newton’s election of Setti Warren, giving that city the distinction of having a black mayor, governor and president in photos lining public offices.

Both the Obama and Patrick administrations would be distinguished by appointments reflective of America, with more African Americans than ever before occupying high government offices for which they had long been qualified but were typically passed by.

The local level saw its electoral triumphs too — and disappointments. While the complexion of the Boston City Council changed to one inclusiveness, it lost some of that luster with the controversial conviction of Chuck Turner, the esteemed Roxbury councilor whose career has been emblematic of effective community activism. Community members and many elected officials denounced the conviction as unfair. Caught in the same sting, state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson disappointed many with her bribery conviction, tarnishing a distinguished record as a civil rights lawyer, a profession from which she was ultimately banned.

Majority politicians also fell from grace, with Massachusetts House Speaker Thomas Finneran pleading guilty in a redistricting scandal, disappointing in that he could have easily continued in his seat had he delivered for his Mattapan community.

More somber losses came with the deaths of former Mayor Thomas Menino, Boston’s longest-serving mayor and one who did much to spearhead development in the urban core, and former City Council President Bruce Bolling. Yet Bolling’s memory lives on in a most tangible asset for the community: the renovation of the long-decrepit Ferdinand furniture store as the Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building. It now stands as a shimmering gateway to Dudley Square — and a centerpiece of public space, participation and power for Boston’s communities of color to embrace in the next 50 years.

And the Banner will be there with you.