[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 16 (Wednesday, February 1, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S276-S277]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HONORING THE LIFE OF KEVIN HAGAN WHITE
Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the
Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 365, submitted earlier
today.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A resolution (S. Res. 365) honoring the life of Kevin Hagan
White, the Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts from 1968 to 1984.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the
resolution.
Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the
resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to
reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or
debate, and any statements relating to the matter be printed in the
Record.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The resolution (S. Res. 365) was agreed to.
[[Page S277]]
The preamble was agreed to.
The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:
S. Res. 365
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
Resolved, 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.
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