Dorchester Illustration no. 2470 Charles C. Yancey
In our efforts to document the recent history of Dorchester, we hope to present biographies of some of Dorchester’s living personalities. We are calling this occasional series: Diverse Dorchester.
Biography of Charles C. Yancey by Edward M. Cook
No history of Dorchester would be complete without the story of the life of Charles C. Yancey. As the first City Councilor for District 4 from 1983-2016, he reigns as the longest, consecutively serving municipal elected official in the history of Boston. In an era before Boston became a city with majority of people of color, when very few citizens of color had run for office, Charles Yancey worked for John D. O’Bryant for School Committee and himself ran for Congress, Massachusetts State Auditor, City Council and, later, for Mayor. During his time in office he was in the vanguard as a champion of issues and causes that have become mainstream in the Boston, Massachusetts and the United States: police body cameras, independent civilian review boards for police, divestment of apartheid South Africa by Boston, employment and workforce development, the damage of racism, desegregation of public education, prohibiting smoking in public places, LGBTQ+ and transgender rights, etc. He was a consistent partner with progressive coalitions on the Council throughout his career.
Charles Yancey is a lifelong resident of Boston. He was born (December 28, 1948) to Howell Yancey, Sr. and Alice W. Yancey in Roxbury, the sixth of nine children. Charles credits the civic activism of his parents as the inspiration for his desire to serve: Howell was a union activist and his mother a contributor to multiple education organizations.
Charles attended the Philip Brooks Elementary School, the Patrick T. Campbell Junior High School, and Boston Technical High School. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from Tufts University in 1970, a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Harvard University in 1991 and an Honorary Doctor of Law from Mt. Ida College in 2001. One of his ancestors fought in the legendary civil war 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment.
Incorporated as a city in 1909, Boston had several forms of council bodies. Beginning in 1951, all city council seats were at-large, leading to a whites-only council, until the election of Tom Atkins in 1967 and Bruce C. Bolling in 1981. Yancey’s election in 1983 was part a turning point in Boston’s city council politics. That election was the first to elect city councilors from 9 geographic districts as well as four at-large seats. Yancey had run twice under the old system and was a leader in promoting the more inclusive system as a spokesman for the Campaign for District Representation.
Charles Yancey’s career was overflowing with activity and leadership in public office and in his community from being president of his high school Junior Achievement Company to the creation of the annual Charles C. Yancey Book Fair that provided and estimated 700,000 books to Boston children since 1987. “The whole point of this book fair is to encourage a sense of independent learning on the part of all the people of Boston,” Yancey said.
Councilor Yancey initiated numerous infrastructure projects during his years in office. These included the building of a new police station on Blue Hill Avenue, the Mattapan Branch Library, the Gallivan Community Center, Alston Public Library (Co-Sponsor), Hyde Park Police Station reopening, and the Mildred Avenue Community Center. He fought for the rapid transit stops that were added in Dorchester along the Fairmont Line.
In addition, he sponsored and passed numerous Home Rule petitions, ordinances, orders and resolutions that benefitted his district, other districts and the city as a whole. These included: crossing gates for BPS buses, the ban on free cigarette samples, the South African Divestment ordinance, the Parental School Leave Ordinance, the HIV/AIDS State of Emergency Resolution, Human Rights Commission (Co-sponsor), renaming of Franklin Field to Harambee Park, naming of the Alston Library in honor of Brian Honan, the establishment of the Sister City Relationship between Boston and Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana, free bullet proof vests for Boston Police officers.
Along with his position as a Councilor for District 4, he served as Council President and was a leader in multiple community organizations: the National League of Cities Board of Directors, and the Massachusetts Coastal Resources Advisory Board and the South End Tenants Association. National Leadership Forum, The Codman Square Community Development Corporation, The Greater Roxbury Development Corporation, ABCD, United Way, Massachusetts Democratic State Committee, Delegate or Alternate to several National Democratic Conventions. His leadership included organizations that benefitted the African American community: President of the National Black Caucus of Black Elected Officials, President of the Black Political Task Force. Councilor Yancey supported and participated in all of the festivals, parades and celebrations that honor the many communities of Dorchester and Boston: Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Caribbeans, Irish, Haitians, Gay Pride, Bunker Hill Day, Dorchester Day, etc. During his time in office he met and interacted with people who achieved fame in politics, sports, entertainment and civil rights, too many to list.
His background in business, community development and economics led him to positions of leadership as the Director of the Office of Management and Finance for the Executive Office of Community Development of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Director of Economic Development for the Circle Venture Capital Fund, the Director of Administration for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council and the Director of Business Development for the UDI Community Development Corporation in Durham North Carolina.
Charles and his wife, Marzetta have been married for more than fifty years. Marzetta and Charles are the proud parents of four children Charles, Jr., Derrick, Sharif, and Ashley. The Yancey’s family value of education was transmitted to their children, who all graduated from the Boston Public Schools (Snowden International School, Boston Latin Academy, Boston Latin School and the John D. O’Bryant School of Mathematics and Science). All of his children went on to college attending University of Massachusetts, Wentworth University, Tufts University and Simmons University. Charles and Marzetta are blessed with seven grandchildren and have lived on Hooper Street in Dorchester since 1975.
Councilor Yancey sums up his career in public service by saying, “While I did not prevail in every race, I was willing to get into the arena and fight for what I believed in. I lost some and I won some but I never regretted exercising my constitutional right to run. Every time I voted I thought about how it affected everyone in the city, not just my district, and I also considered how the vote affected future generations.
