Byron Rushing

Drop in African American population blamed on racism

JohnAKeith — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 23:02:55 +0000

State Representative Byron Rushing says he believes that "lingering racism" in Boston is to blame for the loss of Black/African American residents in the city between 2000 and 2010.

Rushing, who represents the 9th Suffolk District, which includes parts of the South End, Roxbury, and Back Bay neighborhoods of Boston as well as part of the city of Cambridge, expressed his opinion in an article appearing in this week's Boston Courant (not available online).

The 2010 US Census shows a drop of 1.6% in Black/African American population in Boston (140,305 to 138,073).

However, [the] city of Boston shows a loss of white people, too, by .4%, from 291,561 to 290,312.

Meanwhile, the Asian population increased 23.86%, to almost 55,000 residents while the Hispanic population increased 26.8%, from 85,089 to 107,917.

Almost all Northern cities lost Black/African American residents during the past decade, according to the New York Times.

So, what really happened?

Menino makes critic of library trustees a library trustee

adamg — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 11:33:49 +0000

Mayor Menino has appointed state Rep. Byron Rushing to the Boston Public Library board of trustees.

As the Dorchester Reporter notes, earlier this year Rushing told library trustees he could not recall a group that has had a worse relationship with lawmakers than BPL trustees.

Byron Rushing makes his yearly effort to outlaw stupid laws

adamg — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 17:10:06 +0000

Boston Daily reports state Rep. Byron Rushing has once again introduced a bill to strip the Mass. General Laws of a bunch of archaic sections, including ones that declare the Communist Party to be subversive, ban tattooing by anybody other than a physician and make fornication, lascivious acts and sex with an animal crimes (the latter punishable by up to 20 years in jail!).

The Roxbury/Fenway rep has been filing this sort of legislation annually since at least 2004 (read up on his 2008 and 2007 efforts), but apparently his fellow legislators are very concerned about unleashing an epidemic of Communists tattooing cows before performing lascivious acts on them.

Opening a time capsule in Roxbury

adamg — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 17:48:47 +0000

State Rep. Byron Rushing holds up a 1922 newspaper. Photo by Third Decade.

Third Decade reports on what was inside a 1922 time capsule opened today at the Ferdinand building in Dudley Square:

... The Mayor and Rep. Rushing pulled out copies of the Boston Evening Transcript and the Boston Post, furniture advertisements from Ferdinand's Blue Store, and a list of employees from Ferdinand's Blue Store. ...

Next up: Figuring out what to put in a new time capsule.