Bruce C. Bolling is a politician and businessman in Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

, Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

. He served as the first black

Black people

The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...

 president of the Boston City Council

Boston City Council

The Boston City Council is the legislative branch of government for the city of Boston. It is made up of 13 members: 9 district representatives and 4 at-large members. Councilors are elected to two-year terms and there is no limit on the number of terms an individual can serve...

 in the mid-1980s.

Biography

Bolling was educated at Boston English High School

English High School of Boston

The English High School of Boston, Massachusetts is the first public high school in America, founded in 1821. Originally called The English Classical School, it was renamed The English High School upon its first relocation in 1824. The current building is located in Jamaica Plain.-History:Since its...

; Northeastern University; and Cambridge College

Cambridge College

Cambridge College is a private, non-profit college based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, specializing in adult education.It offers distance learning and blended learning programs toward undergraduate and graduate degrees in education, counseling, psychology, management, health care management, and...

. He is from "the city's most politically successful black family. His father, Royal Bolling Sr., was a state senator

Massachusetts Senate Delegations

The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the state...

 and his brother, Royal Jr., served as state representative

Massachusetts House of Representatives

The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from single-member electoral districts across the Commonwealth. Representatives serve two-year terms...

."

Around 1980 he worked "in the administration of Mayor Kevin White in a variety of capacities, including positions in the Office of Public Safety and as a manager of a Little City Hall." Beginning in 1981 he served on the Boston City Council, acting as its president 1986-1987 -- "the first Black elected president of the Boston City Council." He ran for mayor in 1993

Boston mayoral election, 1993

The Boston mayoral election of 1993 occurred on Tuesday, November 2, 1993 between Acting Mayor Thomas Menino and State Representative James Brett...

.

Since ca.2000 he has worked as director of MassAlliance, a firm specializing in small business

Small business

A small business is a business that is privately owned and operated, with a small number of employees and relatively low volume of sales. Small businesses are normally privately owned corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships...

 development.

Publications by Bolling

• Plan to benefit South Boston betrays the idea of linkage. Boston Globe, May 27, 2000. p. A.15.
• Fear, disrespect go together; Let's diminish both. Boston Globe, Jan 2, 1993. p. 11.
• Op Ed: What I've learned from my experience. Boston Herald, Dec 30, 1992. p. 021.

Publications about Bolling

• Margot Hornblower. "Boston's new Council president reflects shift in race relations; Bruce Bolling and family making mark on politics." Washington Post, 16 January 1986: A3.
• Christopher J. Daly. "With the slamming of a taxi door, race issue reverberates in Boston." Washington Post, 25 December 1992. (Controversy over taxi driver refusing to drive black City Councilman Bruce Bolling home to Roxbury neighborhood).

External links

• Google news archive. Articles about Bolling.
• Google blog search. Blog posts about Bolling.
• Flickr. Photos of Bolling, 2009