Sworn in on January 5, 2026, Miniard Culpepper now represents District 7 on the Boston City Council, serving the communities of Roxbury, Dorchester, Fenway, and parts of the South End.
Born and raised on Seaver Street in Dorchester, Culpepper grew up deeply influenced by his family’s civil rights legacy. His grandfather, an NAACP leader and pastor, marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and founded one of Boston’s first Black-owned nursery schools. These roots instilled in Culpepper a profound sense of community, faith, and servant leadership.
Culpepper graduated from English High School and continued his education at Brandeis University, Howard University School of Divinity, and Suffolk University Law School. Early in his legal career, he took on City Hall in Grove Hall to help a friend purchase a previously boarded-up home—an experience that cemented his belief in housing as a right and critical avenue for civic dignity.
His commitment to housing justice deepened during his tenure as Regional Counsel for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in New England. Culpepper spearheaded Boston’s first Civil Rights Protection Plan for public housing, exposed racist practices at the Boston Housing Authority, and secured $25 million in federal funds to rebuild public housing developments. His advocacy supported communities like Academy Homes, A Field Estates, and Franklin Park Apartments.
Beyond City Hall, Culpepper serves as the Senior Pastor at Pleasant Hill Missionary Baptist Church, where he founded the Trotter Peace Program to mentor youth of color and launched the Six-Point Peace Plan to curb violence. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, he organized grassroots initiatives, including food distributions and vaccination campaigns, to support his neighborhood.
As he begins his term, Culpepper champions policies focused on housing stability, equitable development, economic opportunity, investment in public education, and safe, healthy communities through outreach and prevention. Guided by faith, shaped by lived experience, and grounded in advocacy, Culpepper approaches his new role “with urgency and humility,” committed to working alongside residents to create a more just and inclusive Boston.
Abdullahi Hussein is a community journalist focused on uplifting immigrant voices and local stories in Boston. He is also our director of editorial and development.
