Bob Kerrigan sent me this commentary on Leroy Boyd:
When a person dies those who knew the deceased will say things like, I didn’t always agree with him, he wasn’t perfect, sometime he offended people but –
I deeply mourn the passing of my friend Mr. Leroy Boyd, no butts about it. We have lost a true leader, one of the very few we have. Leroy was as perfect a human being as you will meet.
I agreed with everything he said about race. Leroy however would not play the Uncle Tom some people wanted. He didn’t look down when he talked to the city council, he respectfully looked them in the eye expecting respect in return. He didn’t whisper politely to them, he spoke forcefully and listened carefully to the excuses offered. He was courageous, tenacious and committed. By his manner and style he helped expose the ugly underbelly of racism.
In what almost everyone must agree was the spectacle of the decade, the city council refusing efforts to name Alcaniz Street after Dr. Martin Luther King was the headliner. Mr. Boyd showed us all what the discussion was really about. It was about racism. He showed us where it hides and how embedded it is in our society. He showed us that naming streets after white politicians was common in our city and accordingly how wrong it was to deny a unanimous community statement of respect for Dr. King. All over the world, Dr. King is honored by people of all races and cultures with major streets and parks named in his honor, here we have a few blocks.
No, Leroy wasn’t interested in diplomacy where claims of a need for diplomacy were simply an excuse not to act. Mr. Boyd was a role model for the young and an inspiration to the old. He was truly a remarkable person. Not only his family grieves but we as a community have suffered a deep loss as well.
We have a long way to go to eliminate racism but we are closer now because of his tireless efforts through his Movement for Change.
–Bob Kerrigan