Events › Author Talk: Don Gillis - The Battle for Boston (in conversation with Bill Walczak)

Don Gillis will discuss his 2025 book, The Battle for Boston: How Mayor Ray Flynn and Community Organizers Fought Racism and Downtown Power Brokers, in conversation with Bill Walczak, President of the Columbia Savin Hill Civic Association (former CEO of Codman Square Health Center). Can cities truly embrace progressivism and govern effectively in the 21st century?

The Battle for Boston captures the remarkable era under Mayor Ray Flynn, whose election in 1983 marked the beginning of a profound shift in the city’s political and social landscape. The book chronicles the inspiring journey of a city that dared to challenge the entrenched power brokers, including developers, landlords, and banking industry leaders, through powerful grassroots campaigns. In a historic turn, in 2021, Michelle Wu became the first woman, person of color, and Asian American elected Mayor of Boston. Wu’s victory on a similarly progressive platform as Flynn underscores the enduring relevance of his legacy, signaling a hopeful future for more inclusive and effectively governed cities.

Books will be available at the event for purchase and to be signed. For more information, please visit https://battleforboston.com/.

Don Gillis, PhD, is a community organizer and longtime activist in Boston. He has advised mayors of several cities and led economic and workforce development agencies. He holds a PhD in urban sociology and the sociology of education and an MA in community sociology from Boston University. He has taught sociology courses such as Boston’s People and Neighborhoods, Race and Ethnicity, Occupations and the Workplace, Racial and Social Inequality in Schools, and the Sociology of HBO’s The Wire.

Bill Walczak was founding president and former CEO of the Codman Square Health Center, where he served for 36 years. He is also a co-founder of Codman Academy and the Edward Kennedy Health Careers Academy and is on the founding boards of Daily Table and HealthWorks at Codman Fitness Center. He is retired and writes a column for the Dorchester Reporter newspaper.

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