Apr 5, 2023 - News

Boston sets plans to honor Mel King

Steph Solis

Mel King is pictured at the Building a Better Boston breakfast, where he got an award. He's wearing a green T-shirt that says "Teamwork makes the dream work." — Mel King at the UMass Boston Center for Collaborative Leadership’s Building a Better Boston breakfast in 2017, where he was presented with the Building a Better Boston Award. Photo: Mark Garfinkel/Boston Herald/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images

City officials, activists and family members of Mel King will honor the civil rights leader’s memory next week.

What’s happening: Union United Methodist Church will host a public viewing, visitation and funeral service for King, who died last week at age 94.

Why it matters: King’s unwavering activism for affordable housing and social justice changed Boston politics. One local activist called him the city’s Nelson Mandela.

King is credited with the creation of Tent City, a mixed-income residential complex, years after he and demonstrators camped out in tents to protest gentrification in the South End.

He also was the first Black man to reach the general election for mayor.

Details: The public viewing and visitation are 4pm-8pm Monday at the church, at 485 Columbus Ave.

The church will host a hybrid funeral service on Tuesday with a broadcast over Zoom at noon.

Of note: The family encourages guests to wear bow ties to the funeral as a tribute to King.

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Boston sets plans to honor Mel King

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