A homeless man in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, went ballistic on police over migrants taking over a local rec center. The Melnea Cass Recreation Center was named after a prominent civil rights figure in the predominantly black neighborhood. She was known as the “First Lady of Roxbury.” The center is also on a street named after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called MLK Jr. Boulevard. None of the black history surrounding the rec center or the neighborhood, however, can save it from being commandeered by local authorities for use by migrants.
Dozens, if not hundreds, of migrants have been temporarily housed at Boston’s Logan Airport due to a lack of space in local shelters. Due to the influx of migrants from the open Southern Border and the right-to-shelter law in Massachusetts, a plan was derived to take over the rec center that local low-income children use daily.
In September 2022, the wealthy Massachusetts island Martha’s Vineyard received a migrant shipment from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. They were deported to a military base within 24 hours. Unfortunately, no such luck exists for the predominantly black Roxbury.
A working homeless man attempted to enter the Melnea Cass Recreation Center and was greeted by a few police officers on bicycles blocking the entrance. A now-viral video shows the man going ballistic on the officers, venting his frustrations about the cost of living compounded by new arrivals taking resources not intended for them.
SOURCES:
Healey, Boston officials tour Roxbury rec center ahead of immigrants’ arrival from Logan | WBUR News
Migrant families moving into Melnea Cass Recreational Complex in Boston
Roxbury’s Cass recreation center to house 200 Logan migrants by Saturday: ‘A painful choice’
Recreation programs left with nowhere to go as migrants move from Logan Airport to Boston shelter – CBS Boston
Readers disagree with shelter overflow site at Roxbury rec center
Migrants sent to Martha’s Vineyard have been voluntarily taken to military base for support , officials say | CNN Politics
