Royal Lee Bolling (June 19, 1920 – July 16, 2002) was a Massachusetts politician and head of a prominent African-American political family. While serving in the

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 14 counties each divided into single-member ...

in 1965, he sponsored the state's Racial Imbalance Act, which led to the desegregation of Boston's public schools. Bolling was a decorated

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

veteran, earning a

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...

as a member of the segregated "Buffalo Soldiers" 92nd infantry division. He was also the founder of a successful real estate business, which he ran for 50 years.

Early life and education

Bolling was born in

Dinwiddie County, Virginia Dinwiddie County is a county (United States), county located in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 27,947. Its county seat is Dinwiddie, Virginia, Dinwidd ...

, to Granville and Irene Bolling. At the age of eight, he moved with his family to Framingham, Massachusetts. He grew up in a small yellow house on Walnut Street near Bowditch Field. He first showed a talent for politics when he ran for president of his predominantly white

Framingham High School Framingham High School, or FHS, is an urban/suburban public high school in the city of Framingham, Massachusetts, United States, located approximately west of Boston. Founded in 1792, as Framingham Academy, the high school is the result of the ...

class and obtained endorsements from Massachusetts governor

Leverett Saltonstall Leverett A. Saltonstall (September 1, 1892June 17, 1979) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts. He served three two-year terms as the List of Governors of Massachusetts, 55th Governor of Massachusetts, and for more than twent ...

and Boston Mayor

James Michael Curley James Michael Curley (November 20, 1874 – November 12, 1958) was an American Democratic politician from Boston, Massachusetts. He served four terms as mayor of Boston. He also served a single term as governor of Massachusetts, characterized ...

. He became the school's first African-American class president and was re-elected twice before graduating in 1940. He attended Howard University for a time, performing as a

tap dancer Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm (jazz) tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses on dance; it is widely perfo ...

in D.C.-area nightclubs to earn money for tuition, before leaving school to join the military. After the war he moved to Roxbury and continued his studies at Harvard University and Boston University Law School. While still a student he founded a real estate agency, from which he retired circa 1992.

Military service

In 1943, Bolling joined the segregated 92nd infantry division of the U.S. Army (also known as the "Buffalo Soldiers"), eventually rising to the rank of first lieutenant. He fought in German-occupied Italy, earning the

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, w ...

, four

Battle Stars A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...

, and the

Combat Infantry Badge The Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) is a United States Army military decoration. The badge is awarded to infantrymen and Special Forces soldiers in the rank of colonel and below, who fought in active ground combat while assigned as members of ei ...

for "extraordinary leadership and valor under fire."

Political career

In 1961 he was elected to the

, where he served six two-year terms. He represented the 11th Suffolk District (Ward 12) from 1961 to 1964 and the 7th Suffolk District from 1965 to 1968 and 1971 to 1974 (Wards 9 and 12 from 1961 to 1968 and Wards 8, 9, and 12 from 1971 to 1974). After a failed run in 1974, he ran again and in 1982 he was elected to the

Massachusetts Senate 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 ...

, where he represented the Second Suffolk District from 1983 to 1988. He was defeated in the 1988 primary election by his longtime rival Bill Owens. Bolling authored over 200 legislative initiatives in the course of his career. In 1963, he proposed the original Racial Imbalance Act, a version of which was signed into law by Governor

John Volpe John Anthony Volpe (; December 8, 1908November 11, 1994) was an American businessman, diplomat, and politician from Massachusetts. A son of Italian immigrants, he founded and owned a large construction firm. Politically, he was a Republican in i ...

in 1965 and which led to the desegregation of Boston's public schools. He was instrumental in establishing Boston's

METCO The Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity, Inc. (METCO, Inc.) is the largest and second-longest continuously running voluntary school desegregation program in the country and a national model for the few other voluntary desegregation bu ...

program, and secured the initial funding for

Roxbury Community College Roxbury Community College (RCC) is a public community college in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. RCC offers associate degrees in arts, and sciences, as well as certificates. RCC has transfer agreements with Curry College, North ...

. He advocated for the creation of the Second Suffolk Senate District, which led to the election of Boston's first black state senator, Bill Owens, in 1974. In 1985 he sponsored the bill to redevelop the grounds of

Boston State Hospital Boston State Hospital is a historic mental hospital located in Mattapan and Dorchester, Massachusetts. The court case ''Rogers v. Okin'', which increases patient consent rights, was filed by a class action A class action, also known as a class-ac ...

; dozens of mixed-income townhouses have since been built on the site, with many more planned. Bolling was an early advocate for

gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , 3 ...

, and chaired the Hispanic Commission, the state's first commission on issues affecting Latinos. He also chaired the senate's Public Service Committee. Widely recognized for his diplomatic skills, Bolling was chairman of the Special Legislative Committee on Foreign Trade and was hosted by heads of state around the world. He was a member of the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

, the

Urban League The National Urban League, formerly known as the National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes, is a nonpartisan historic civil rights organization based in New York City that advocates on behalf of economic and social justice for African Am ...

, the

Black United Front Black United Front also known as The Black United Front of Nova Scotia or simply BUF was a Black nationalist organization primarily based in Halifax, Nova Scotia during the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. Preceded by the Nova Scotia ...

Veterans of Foreign Wars The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), formally the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, is an organization of US war veterans, who, as military service members fought in wars, campaigns, and expeditions on foreign land, waters, or a ...

, and

Disabled American Veterans The Disabled American Veterans (DAV) is an organization created in 1920 by World War I veterans for disabled military veterans of the United States Armed Forces that helps them and their families through various means. It was issued a federal ch ...

Personal life

He married Thelma "Angela" Greene in 1943 and had 12 children. His first son, Royal L. Bolling Jr., served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives; his second son,

Bruce Bolling Bruce Carlton Bolling (April 29, 1945September 11, 2012) was a politician and businessman in Boston, Massachusetts. He was a member of the Boston City Council and served as the council's first black president in the mid-1980s. He unsuccessfully ...

, was Boston's first African-American City Council president. Bolling's wife died of

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...

in 2002. A month later, Bolling died at his vacation home in Oak Bluffs,

Martha's Vineyard Martha's Vineyard, often simply called the Vineyard, is an island in the Northeastern United States, located south of Cape Cod in Dukes County, Massachusetts, known for being a popular, affluent summer colony. Martha's Vineyard includes the s ...

, Massachusetts, also of pancreatic cancer.

Memorials

Senator Bolling Circle in Dorchester was named for Bolling in June 2006, at a dedication ceremony attended by former governor

Michael Dukakis Michael Stanley Dukakis (; born November 3, 1933) is an American retired lawyer and politician who served as governor of Massachusetts from 1975 to 1979 and again from 1983 to 1991. He is the longest-serving governor in Massachusetts history a ...

, former state senate president

William M. Bulger William Michael Bulger (born February 2, 1934) is an American former Democratic politician, lawyer, and educator from South Boston, Massachusetts. His eighteen-year tenure as President of the Massachusetts Senate is the longest in history. He th ...

, and many other Massachusetts politicians.

Early life and education

Military service

Political career

Personal life

Memorials

See also

References

Further reading