Boston City Council Welcomes Councilor Miniard Culpepper

The Boston City Council welcomed Councilor Miniard Culpepper, who began his first term representing District 7 on January 5, 2026, following a recent inauguration ceremony.

Councilor Culpepper represents the neighborhood of Roxbury and sections of Dorchester, Fenway, and the South End. Born and raised on Seaver Street in Dorchester, he was shaped by a family legacy rooted in activism, faith, and community leadership. His grandparents were the first Black couple to live on Seaver Street, and his grandfather – a pastor and NAACP leader – marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and helped build one of Boston’s first Black-owned nursery schools. That legacy instilled in him a lifelong commitment to justice and service.

A graduate of English High School, Brandeis University, Howard Divinity School, and Suffolk University Law School, Councilor Culpepper’s path to public service was deeply influenced by his early work as a lawyer, including a fight to help a friend purchase a boarded-up home in Grove Hall – an experience that shaped his understanding of housing as a cornerstone of dignity and opportunity.

His career in public service spans decades. As New England Regional Counsel for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Councilor Culpepper fought for tenants’ rights, fair housing, and reinvestment in underserved neighborhoods. His work included implementing Boston’s first Civil Rights Protection Plan in public housing, exposing racial discrimination at the Boston Housing Authority, and helping secure $25 million in federal funding to rebuild public housing developments across the city. He also advocated for affordable housing communities such as Academy Homes, A Field Estates, and the Franklin Park Apartments.

In addition to his federal service, Councilor Culpepper has remained deeply engaged at the community level. As Senior Pastor of Pleasant Hill Missionary Baptist Church, he founded the Trotter Peace Program to support mentorship and employment opportunities for young people of color and led the Six Point Peace Plan to reduce community violence. During the pandemic, he organized grassroots vaccination and food distribution efforts to support his neighbors.

As a member of the Boston City Council, Councilor Culpepper is committed to advancing housing stability, economic opportunity, strong schools, safe and healthy communities, and a city government that is transparent, accountable, and rooted in community voice.

Guided by faith, shaped by lived experience, and grounded in decades of public service, he begins his term ready to partner with residents to deliver results for District 7 and help shape a more just and inclusive Boston.