Whereas Kevin White was born in Boston on September 25,
1929;
Whereas his father, Joseph C. White, a legislator of the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts; his maternal grandfather, Henry E. Hagan; and
his father-in-law, William Galvin; each served as presidents of the Boston City
Council;
Whereas Kevin White earned a bachelor’s degree from
Williams College in 1952, a law degree from Boston College in 1955, and also
studied at the Harvard Graduate School of Public Administration, now the John
F. Kennedy School of Government;
Whereas in 1956, Kevin White married Kathryn
Galvin;
Whereas in 1960, at the age of 31, Kevin White was elected
Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and was reelected 3 times,
serving until 1967;
Whereas in January 1968, Kevin White became the 51st Mayor
of the City of Boston, Massachusetts;
Whereas within months after taking office as Mayor of
Boston, Kevin White was instrumental in helping guide the City of Boston after
the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.;
Whereas on April 5, 1968, Mayor White asked that the James
Brown concert at the Boston Garden be televised rather than be cancelled, as
many suggested;
Whereas during the concert, Mayor White addressed the
citizens to plead for calm and said, Twenty four hours ago Dr. King died
for all of us, black and white, that we may live together in harmony without
violence, and in peace. I’m here to ask for your help and to ask you to stay
with me as your mayor, and to make Dr. King’s dream a reality in Boston. No
matter what any other community might do, we in Boston will honor Dr. King in
peace.
;
Whereas during his time as Mayor of Boston, Kevin White
undertook a program of urban revitalization of the downtown areas of Boston
that forever transformed Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market;
Whereas during his time as Mayor, Kevin White brought the
residents of each neighborhood of Boston, from Mattapan to Charlestown, from
South Boston to Brighton, from East Boston to West Roxbury, together through
programs like Summerthing, Little City Halls, and jobs for at-risk
youth;
Whereas in 1974, Judge W. Arthur Garrity Jr. of the United
States District Court for the District of Massachusetts ordered Boston to begin
busing children to integrate its schools;
Whereas during a difficult period of racial tension for
the City of Boston, Mayor White urged the people of Boston to remember their
common identity;
Whereas from 1984 to 2002, Kevin White was the director of
the Institute for Political Communication at Boston University;
Whereas Mayor White valiantly fought against Alzheimer’s
disease after his diagnosis in 2003 and despite this debilitating challenge, he
never stopped being an example of strength for the City of Boston and his
family;
Whereas Kevin White is survived by his wife, Kathryn; a
brother, Terrence, who managed his early campaigns; his sons, Mark and Chris;
his daughters, Caitlin, Beth, and Patricia; his 7 grandchildren; and his
sister, Maureen Mercier;
Whereas the most famous campaign slogan coined Kevin
White, A loner in love with the city
; and
Whereas the irony of the slogan is that Kevin White was
never lonely and that the people of Boston who he loved so much, loved him
back: Now, therefore, be it
That—
(1)the
Senate—
(A)recognizes that
Kevin White forever enriched the Boston political landscape and forged a new
path for the City of Boston;
(B)pays tribute to
the work by Kevin White to improve the lives of the residents of the City of
Boston; and
(C)requests the
Secretary of the Senate to prepare an official copy of this resolution for
presentation to the family of Kevin White; and
(2)when the Senate
adjourns today, it stand adjourned as a mark of respect to the memory of former
Boston Mayor Kevin Hagan White.