In the late summer of 2021, a neighbor and dear friend, Pat Feeley, called me, asking if I happened to know anything about a notable figure in the Boston community: Jean McGuire. Feeling a bit embarrassed, I told her that I did not. As Pat went on to describe Jean’s many accomplishments, I came to realize that “notable” was a considerable understatement. In brief, from 1973 until 2016, Jean was the executive director of the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity (METCO, Inc.), one of the oldest voluntary school desegregation programs in the United States. She was also the first Black woman elected to the Boston School Committee, serving on that body for nearly ten years.

Knowing that I’m a writer, Pat proposed that I commit Jean’s story to words before too much more time passes. (At the time of my conversation with Pat, Jean was ninety years old, though you’d never guess that. Almost daily, she swims at her local Y.) So, I ended up spending hours with Jean, both in person and on the phone, asking questions about her personal history and her history as an educator, counselor, executive, school-committee member, mentor, and community activist. Based on these interviews and a range of secondary sources, I wrote a brief (10,000-word) biography: Jean McGuire: Portrait of an Education Activist. You can access it here.

I wish to express my deepest gratitude to Jean for taking so much time to share her story. Like so many other people in the community, I am thankful for her long history of activism in support of students, educators, schools, and racial justice. I am also grateful to Pat–another biography-deserving community activist–for connecting the two of us. Both women are inspirations.