Shirley Shillingford

Shirley Shillingford is a political activist in Boston, Massachusetts.

Shillingford was born and raised in Jamaica.[1] She traveled to Montreal in 1967 to work on the Jamaica pavilion in the World's Fair.[1] She later moved to Boston where she worked in Mayor Kevin White's office in 1974.[1]

Shillingford has been the president of the Caribbean American Carnival Association in Boston for 34 years and supervises the annual Caribbean parade in Boston.[2] She also ran a food pantry in Mattapan for 33 years.[3] The food pantry was named after her in 2019.[4]

Shillingford endorsed Tanisha Sullivan during her campaign for Boston secretary of state in 2022.[5] She also signed on as a plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by South Boston community advocates against the Boston City Council to overturn a redistricting map passed on October 2022.[6]

In 2023, she was recognized as one of "Boston’s most admired, beloved, and successful Black Women leaders" by the Black Women Lead project.[7][8][9]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Field Notes on Shirley Shillingford; president of the Caribbean American Carnival Association of Boston (CACAB)". Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. December 21, 1999. Retrieved August 12, 2025.
  2. ^ Wayman, Ted (August 23, 2024). "Boston prepares for Caribbean Carnival with warning from police". WCVB. Retrieved August 12, 2025.
  3. ^ Lewis, Wyndham (March 30, 2025). "How to Live Long and Prosper, According to People Living Longer". Boston Magazine. Retrieved August 12, 2025.
  4. ^ "Mattapan food pantry named for its manager a longtime activist". Boston Herald. December 24, 2019. Retrieved August 12, 2025.
  5. ^ Miller, Yawu (August 4, 2022). "Pressley backs Sullivan's campaign". The Boston Banner. ProQuest 2700397345. Retrieved August 12, 2025.
  6. ^ Miller, Yawu (December 1, 2022). "Lawsuit takes aim at redistricting map". The Boston Banner. ProQuest 2747035644. Retrieved August 12, 2025.
  7. ^ "Black Women Lead". Greater Grove Hall Main Streets. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  8. ^ Sullivan, Mike (October 4, 2023). "Portraits along Blue Hill Avenue honor Boston's Black women leaders". CBS Boston. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  9. ^ Gaskin, Ed (April 10, 2025). Black Women Lead: Boston's Most Admired, Beloved, and Iconic Leaders, 1700 - Present. Independently published. ISBN 979-8317465209.
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