Mel King, who helped ease Boston’s racial strife, dies at 94

By STEVE LeBLANC
Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) — Longtime Boston civil rights activist Mel King, whose 1983 campaign for mayor helped the city repair some of the racial divisions sparked during the school busing crisis, has died. He was 94. King became the first Black man to reach a general mayoral contest in Boston, facing off against Ray Flynn, who would go on to win. The election was a test for the city, which had undergone years of strife following the court-ordered desegregation of the public schools in the mid-1970s. Instead of reigniting the discord, the race had the opposite effect, being seen as respectful, even friendly at times.