Communities of Color event in Roxbury honors late Mel King
ROXBURY - The annual celebratory and jovial Communities of Color event in Roxbury Wednesday night had a slightly somber air, as the hundreds of people in the packed auditorium mourned the loss - and celebrated the life of - the late Mel King.
King, the legendary Boston politician who was the first Black man to run for mayor, died on Tuesday at the age of 94.
"I got a chance to have a front row seat to a pretty remarkable human being so I'm blessed," his son Michael told the crowd.
The event was hosted by WBZ's Tiffany Chan and Paul Burton. It's typically a celebration of thanks for the community's efforts to promote the political and societal success and efforts of Greater Boston's people of color. The death of King, just a day before, was timely for everyone in the crowd and on stage.
"Mel knows how to make an entrance, OK?" said Communities of Color producer Alda Marshall Witherspoon, who is related to King by marriage. "He was always out in the community," she added. "He never got too lofty. He was a man of the people. And so that's what I always do as a takeaway for politics. No matter how high you get or how deep you go, always be a person of the community."
The state's current leaders praised his decades of service, too. He was part of "a generation that laid the foundation for us," Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said.
"His vision -- his ability to see what was possible when so many said it was impossible -- and then his ability to get after it every single day," was something Governor Maura Healey celebrated.
King's legacy lives on in his work in the South End Technology Center, which works to bridge the technology gap.