ABSTRACT
The Mandela Referendum was a radical, "urban nationalist" solution to Boston's longstanding racial problems. The new city of Mandela, intentionally tied to the anti-apartheid movement by its name, was to be carved from seven neighborhoods, the largest section of which is known as Greater Roxbury. The central point of contention between supporters of the referendum and Mayor Flynn was the economic feasibility of Mandela and, by extension, the economic well-being of Greater Roxbury. In 1979, Mayor Kevin White issued an executive order mandating employment quotas for Boston residents on all construction projects funded by the city or using city-administered public funds. Roxbury had higher crime, infant mortality, and poverty rates and fewer individuals able to afford health insurance than other neighborhoods in the city. Financial viability thus became the linchpin of the referendum battle between the mayor and Mandela supporters. Both sides produced hypothetical budgets that were so wildly divergent as to make them suspect.
