III 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 365 

Honoring the life of Kevin Hagan White, the Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts 

from 1968 to 1984. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 1, 2012 

Mr. KERRY (for himself and Mr. BROWN of Massachusetts) submitted the 

following resolution; which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Honoring the life of Kevin Hagan White, the Mayor of 

Boston, Massachusetts from 1968 to 1984. 

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; 


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•SRES 365 ATS 

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; 


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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 

1 Resolved, That— 

2 (1) the Senate— 

3 (A) recognizes that Kevin White forever 

4 enriched the Boston political landscape and 

5 forged a new path for the City of Boston; 


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1 (B) pays tribute to the work by Kevin 

2 White to improve the lives of the residents of 

3 the City of Boston; and 

4 (C) requests the Secretary of the Senate to 

5 prepare an official copy of this resolution for 

6 presentation to the family of Kevin White; and 

7 (2) when the Senate adjourns today, it stand 

8 adjourned as a mark of respect to the memory of 

9 former Boston Mayor Kevin Hagan White. 

Æ 


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