THOUGH HE was a native of Elkhart, Ind., Thomas I. Atkins, a civil rights lawyer who combined sharp intellect and political muscle, mastered the art of Boston politics. Atkins, the city's first black at-large city councilor, died Friday at age 69.
Atkins's election in 1967 was, in part, a function of the increase in the city's black population, which had climbed to about 90,000 that year. But he also ran well in white working-class neighborhoods where he reached out for votes in local barrooms considered hostile territory by many minorities.
Atkins could be brash, even pushing his way into Harvard Law School long after the application deadline. But there was always an analytical underpinning to his actions, whether fighting for school desegregation nationwide in his role as general counsel for the NAACP or arguing on behalf of Boston neighborhoods threatened by short-sighted urban renewal policies.
Boston has seen more fiery civil rights leaders than Atkins. But none smarter or more strategic.
The Atkins method was clearly visible in the 1960s in response to urban riots. In Boston, Atkins persuaded police officials to place black leaders on prominent street corners to discourage violence and property damage. White store owners greatly appreciated it. But Atkins had also instructed these same observers to watch for police overreaction and document any incidents of brutality. Black activists greatly appreciated that. The fact that Boston escaped with a minimum of violence was due, in large measure, to Atkins's leadership.
While Atkins was better known for his peacemaking and school desegregation efforts, his greatest local contribution may have been in the fight against housing discrimination and neighborhood destabilization. A consortium of Boston banks in the 1960s and early 1970s had designated parts of Mattapan and Dorchester for low-interest loans for minority homebuyers. The decision both limited the places that minorities could buy homes and destabilized the existing neighborhood when unscrupulous real estate agents used scare tactics to convince white residents to move.
Atkins was the most prominent political leader at the time to confront the mortgage redlining and blockbusting tactics. Later, he would demand a public accounting from bank officers through his political contacts in the US Senate.
Atkins, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Boston in 1971, spent the latter part of his career in New York City, where he fought his own battle against Lou Gehrig's disease. His time in Boston was relatively short, but leaves a deep impression.
