Former Massachusetts Representative and Progressive Hero Byron Rushing Endorses Michelle Wu For Mayor

Boston, MA — Today, legendary 36-year veteran of the State House, former Representative for the South End, Roxbury, Fenway and Back Bay Byron Rushing, endorsed Boston City Councilor At-Large Michelle Wu’s campaign for Mayor of Boston. In his endorsement, former Representative Rushing cited Wu’s commitment to stand up for equal justice and opportunity for all Bostonians and to tackle Boston’s most pressing challenges head-on. A pioneering advocate for the civil rights of Black and LGBTQ+ Bay Staters, Rushing represented the Ninth Suffolk District in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1983-2018. He rose to become Assistant Majority Leader, the highest-ranking leadership role ever held by a person of color in the Massachusetts State Legislature.

"Michelle is the leader we need in this moment. She has the vision and the ability to take on the crises we face and help people move forward and recover. From accessible and reliable public transportation to quality schools for all our children, she has lived the stakes of our challenges and is ready to deliver structural change. She has committed her office from early on to discussing race in Boston and supporting anti-racist policy making. She is going to use every lever she has to make Boston more equitable, more innovative, and more livable for every person. That is why I will work hard to get her elected as Boston's next Mayor,” said Representative Byron Rushing.

“I am honored to have the support of my friend and mentor Byron Rushing, a groundbreaking leader and impactful advocate for justice whose work has transformed our city and our state. Throughout his career, he has always fought on behalf of those whose voices have gone unheard by many of those in power. As we take on our city’s urgent challenges both arising from and exacerbated by the pandemic, I will continue to partner with him to lift up all of our communities,” said Councilor Michelle Wu.

Prior to joining the legislature, Rushing was active in the civil rights movement and worked for the Congress of Racial Equity (CORE) and the Northern Student Movement before becoming President of Boston’s Museum of African American History. As a State Representative, he helped pass the landmark law to ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, championed marriage equality, led Massachusetts’ fight against apartheid in South Africa, sponsored the law to end refusal of health insurance coverage for those with pre-existing conditions and worked to combat racial disparities in our criminal justice system.

Former Representative Byron Rushing’s endorsement adds to the Michelle for Mayor campaign’s enthusiastic coalition of multigenerational, multicultural grassroots supporters including community activists and leaders such as Senator Elizabeth Warren, Sunrise Boston, and fellow municipal elected officials from across Greater Boston and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.