Tufts alumnus Charles Yancey (LA '70) was elected Boston City Council president on New Years Day. After 17 years of service on the council as a representative for Mattapan, North Dorchester, and parts of Hyde Park, Yancey became the second African-American council president in the city's history.
His election was part of a stunning political move by seven-year City Council President James Kelly. When it became clear that Kelly would not receive enough votes to secure an eighth term, the former president threw his support behind Yancey, citing his colleague's reputation for independent thinking and his ability to work well with people.
"I am even more shocked than you are," Yancey said about his election.
Yancey credits much of his success to skills he learned as an undergraduate at Tufts. "[Tufts] proved to be invaluable in terms of developing leadership skills, working with people from different backgrounds, and learning how to build coalitions," he said.
During his time at Tufts, Yancey, who majored in economics, was very concerned with diversity on campus. He was a founding member of the African-American Society, and worked with the administration to increase diversity at Tufts. "My freshman year there were only two dozen African-American students," he said. "We pressed the administration to improve outreach and create a more diverse student body."
In the following years, Yancey saw the number of African Americans on campus climb to between 200 and 300 students. He has continued to stress commitment to minority issues during his political career.
Yancey has three main priorities for his term as president: working to change the housing crisis in Boston, increasing benefits to all the people of the city by promoting economic development, and raising the quality of education in Boston's public schools by involving the community and raising the standards for administrators, students, and teachers.
"I believe we can make the Boston public schools the best public school system in the nation," he said.
Yancey cited a recent resolution passed by the Boston City Council for the federal government to reopen investigation of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as an example of the opportunities he will have to bring about change.
"[It puts me] in a position to negotiate and put things on the agenda that may not ordinarily see the light of day."
