Kim Janey Becomes the First Black Mayor of Boston

Photo Courtesy of Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

Kim Janey has been sworn in as the 55th Mayor of the City of Boston, the first Black and first woman Mayor of Boston.

“I stand before you as the first woman and the first Black mayor of Boston, the city that I love,” Kim Janey said during Wednesday’s swearing-in ceremony. “I come to this day with life experience that is different from the men who came before me.”

Mayor Janey is leading Boston through the COVID-19 pandemic with a citywide agenda for recovery, reopening and renewal.  Mayor Janey’s pandemic recovery priorities include distributing vaccines effectively, returning children to school safely, and centering disadvantaged workers and businesses in the City’s economic recovery. Mayor Janey is committed to ensuring the City of Boston reopens safely and equitably, with relief and renewal in every neighborhood.

A proud fourth-generation Roxbury resident, Mayor Janey comes from a long line of educators, entrepreneurs, artists, and advocates. Mayor Janey was raised with values that guide her to this day: the importance of education, the power of community organizing, and the fundamental principles of equity and justice.

Mayor Janey became a mother in high school and worked hard to give her daughter everything she needed to succeed. She began her advocacy on behalf of children inspired by the interconnection of her own daughter’s experiences with those of other children. In her role at Massachusetts Advocates for Children, Mayor Janey championed systemic policy reforms to increase equity, excellence, access, and opportunity in Boston Public Schools. She placed a special focus on eliminating opportunity and achievement gaps for children of color, immigrant children, students who are learning English, children with special needs, and those living in poverty.

Mayor Janey’s own education followed a path familiar to many Boston residents. After attending the New School for Children, her parents enrolled her in Boston Public Schools. In middle school she had rocks and racial slurs thrown at her during the tumultuous busing era. Later, Mayor Janey attended Reading Public Schools through the METCO program, where she was one of two Black students in her graduating class. Mayor Janey went on to attend Smith College as an Ada Comstock Scholar, but withdrew to care for her grandfather.

Prior to becoming Mayor in 2021, Janey made history in 2017 when she was elected to the Boston City Council as the first woman to represent District 7, which includes Roxbury and parts of the South End, Dorchester, and the Fenway. In 2020, she was elected by her peers as President of the Boston City Council. 

Mayor Janey has been recognized for her service with a number of awards, including the Boston NAACP Difference Maker Award in 2015 and the coveted Sapphire Award in 2017. She was named one of Boston’s Most Impactful Black Women in 2021. Mayor Janey is the proud mother of daughter Kimesha and a grandmother of three. She lives in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood.

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Talia M.

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