When State Senator Linda Dorcena Forry won her seat for the district representing South Boston (and a swath of Dorchester) last fall, she found herself immediately thrust into a swirling controversy- not about election results, or raising taxes, or rising crime, or any of the other issues that might plague politicians- but about hosting South Boston's annual St Patrick’s Day breakfast.
The breakfast had for years been hosted by the State Senator who represented the First Suffolk District- a position that has been held by white Irish-American men since the 1940s. Former State Senate President William Bulger-- with his disarmingly lilting voice, his rapier sharp wit, and his reputation for taking no political prisoners-- turned the breakfasting into a political blood sport not for the feint of heart.
When Dorcena Forry, a Haitian-American woman who grew up in Dorchester, won the First Suffolk seat in the fall, Boston City Councilor Bill Linehan voiced hesitance in allowing her to take over hosting duties because she was not from South Boston.
One week before her hosting debut, Sen. Dorcena Forry joined Under the Radar host Callie Crossley to talk about this new chapter in Boston history. Forry also touched on the rush to push a ban on upskirting through the legislature (14:15), and efforts to bring diversity to City Hall (16:50).
Listen to the full interview with Dorcena Forry above. Some notable sound bites below:
For me it's not old versus new, it's just that (...) this is a change. Someone won this seat. It's not the same. It's not the same ethnic group, and that's okay. (...) It's that folks are realizing- wow, there's a change happening and change is good. That shows the progression. That shows that we've come a long way, and that's a good thing
Is there a larger meaning for you? (8:45)
"It's not something I take lightly. As a black woman hosting this breakfast in South Boston, I think that we wanna show people that (...) we made strides, no doubt about it.
"And I think a lot of times people outside of Boston, from other communities from down South or other states- in terms of the black communities- think of Boston sometimes still in the '70s, still in the busing era. (...) We're gonna be able to help change and move away the stereotype of what Boston is. And I think that's a good thing. I'm happy to be hosting the breakfast because hopefully we'll get more people coming to Boston understanding that we are a changed city. And we've been changed for a while now."
