White Stadium and the Soul of Boston

[Rodney Singleton]

The feedback received thus far says we need to state the alternative White Stadium plan and why blocked debate was wrong to other news sources, besides the Globe; speak truth to power; and we need to pay close attention to this election and who is running (more on that later).

This Op-Ed is to the Herald and other news sources in Boston.

Thank you all for the thoughtful feedback, and thank you for your engagement!

-Rodney

(617) 417-5471 (cell)

White Stadium and the Soul of Boston

Invoking Rule 15 to silence a resolution for a fully public White Stadium alternative does not serve the community. Council President Ruthzee Louijeane owes the people of Boston an explanation.

As Council President, Louijeane has twice voted in favor of transparency, equity, and accountability in the debate over the controversial White Stadium renovation in Franklin Park. Yet when a resolution was filed calling for discussion of a public, community-centered alternative to the mayor’s costly and privatized plan, she used Rule 15 to block it.

Rule 15 allows the Council President to prevent duplicative resolutions on the same subject from being refiled. But here’s the problem: the Boston City Council has never debated, let alone considered, a fully public alternative plan for White Stadium. The only design ever put forward is the mayor’s — a $100 million deal negotiated with private soccer investors behind closed doors.

The community deserves better.

A Flawed Process

The Council has already heard serious concerns about the mayor’s plan:

· The absence of an environmental review,

· Irregular procurement practices that favored the Boston Legacy Football Club,

· And the social and environmental risks of building an 11,000-seat stadium in a neighborhood park.

Despite these red flags, construction has not yet begun, which means there is still time to change course. A viable alternative exists: a 5,000-seat stadium designed for public use by Boston’s student-athletes and community organizations, at half the cost of the mayor’s plan.

To shut down discussion of this option is not only shortsighted — it is a dereliction of the Council’s duty to represent the public interest.

A History We Cannot Ignore

I was born and raised in Roxbury. For 64 years, I have watched how Boston treats Black and Brown neighborhoods when it comes to public investment.

In the 1960s, urban renewal policies took my family’s home.
In the 1970s, federal courts had to order Boston to desegregate its schools, because “separate but equal” was not equal under the Constitution.
In the 2000s, I joined neighbors in shaping the Bartlett Yard redevelopment, where community input directly influenced outcomes — because the community demanded a voice.

That tradition of community-driven planning is being dismantled in front of our eyes.

The Wu administration’s White Stadium scheme is privatization by another name. It was negotiated before a public RFP was even issued, structured to benefit private investors — including billionaires with stakes in women’s soccer teams who will profit directly. Meanwhile, whiter and wealthier neighborhoods enjoy fully public maintenance of Boston Common and the Public Garden. In Black and Brown neighborhoods, we are told our parks can only be sustained through private control.

This is more than bad policy. It echoes a racist trope as old as segregation itself: that Black communities cannot steward their own public spaces without external authority. It creates a separate-and-unequal standard for civic life — exactly the logic struck down in Boston’s schools fifty years ago. Equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment applies to public parks just as surely as it applies to public classrooms.

The Public Alternative

City Councilor Julia Mejia and the Boston Branch of the NAACP recognize this reality. Their resolution called for review of a fully public option for White Stadium: a 5,000-seat facility designed for student-athletes and community use at a fraction of the cost of the privatized plan.

The NAACP has been clear: Boston needs transparency in costs, equity in procurement, and an unwavering commitment to the public good.

And yet, Council President Louijeane blocked even a discussion of this proposal. By invoking Rule 15, she misused procedure to suppress debate. Neighbors immediately pointed out that Rule 15 was never intended to silence new proposals — only to prevent duplication.

Angela Davis once reminded us: knowledge is power, but only if we act on it. We know this procedural misuse is wrong. Now we must act. That means organizing testimony, petitions, hearings, and public pressure. It means ensuring that Councilor Mejia’s and the NAACP’s resolution gets a fair hearing, on its merits.

Silence Is Complicity

Our press, too, has been complicit. The Boston Globe — whose owner invested early in the very soccer franchise that stands to profit from White Stadium — has remained largely silent on this conflict of interest, choosing instead to echo City Hall talking points.

Let’s be clear about what is at stake: White Stadium is not just another facility. It is a test of whether Boston will hold Black and Brown neighborhoods to equal standards of public investment. It is a measure of whether we will repeat the sins of urban renewal and school segregation, or whether we will finally honor the principle that public means public — for everyone, in every neighborhood.

A Call to Action

Silence and scattered voices have too often allowed Boston’s communities to be railroaded. White Stadium is too important — and too symbolic — for us to remain quiet.

One letter will not be enough. A dozen voices will not be enough. What we need is a movement:

· Residents testifying at Council meetings.

· Parents and students signing petitions.

· Community groups organizing campaigns and media outreach.

· Faith leaders and civic organizations standing shoulder to shoulder.

We must hold our elected leaders accountable for serving the public — not private billionaires.

Learning from History

Fifty years ago, Boston failed to honor the Constitution until the courts forced it to. Do we really want to repeat that history? Or will we demand better of our leaders — and ourselves?

The stakes are clear: White Stadium is about more than sports. It is about racial equity, public investment, and civic dignity. It is about whether Boston can live up to its ideals.

As John Lewis often reminded us, there are times when we must get into “good trouble.” This is one of those times.

Let us stand together, speak together, and act together — because, as Dr. King warned us, “our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

White Stadium matters. Franklin Park matters. Boston’s future as a city of fairness and equality matters.

The soul of our city is on the line.

Thank you for your consideration.

Rodney Singleton

44 Cedar Street

Roxbury, MA 02119

(617) 417-5471 (cell)