On Sunday, Jan. 19, Reverend Irene Monroe and her wife, Dr. Thea James, will be given the 2025 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King Honor by the social justice and advocacy organization Embrace Boston. Monroe and James are Boston-based advocates who champion for the civil rights of all marginalized people, with an emphasis on BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities.
James, a Washington, D.C., native, is vice president of mission and associate chief medical officer at Boston Medical Center. At BMC, James is passionate about blurring the lines of accessibility that hold people back from receiving medical care and simple necessities like housing.
“As vice president of mission, Dr. James works with caregivers throughout BMC. Additionally, she has primary responsibility for coordinating and maximizing BMC’s relationships and strategic alliances with a wide range of local, state, and national multi-sector organizations, including community agencies, housing advocates, and others that partner with BMC,” according to BMC’s website. “The goal is to foster innovative and effective new models of care that are essential for patients and communities to thrive and reach full potential”
Monroe, originally from Brooklyn, New York, is a lesbian feminist public theologian who works in Boston as a radio show host on outlets including WGBH (89.7 FM) and a writer for the Huffington Post and Boston’s LGBTQ newspaper, Bay Windows.
“I always remember it was Jan. 13th when when they installed [Embrace] and, you know, we had the dignitaries there. We had Martin Luther King III, and his wife and darling daughter, and it was just a grand day to be in the Common,” said Monroe. “And the visibility of us just being there occupying that space and revering the time that he and Coretta were here. It was just wonderful to commemorate what I call the foot soldiers of the civil rights movement. Some were living and some who went on, and I just said, ‘Wow, what a great day.’”
James and Monroe are the first LGBTQ+ couple to receive the honor. Among the other 2025 honorees are former Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker and First Lady Lauren Baker, former Massachusetts Governor Deval and First Lady Diane Patrick, Sandra and John M. Borders III, and Jill Medvedow and Richard Kazis.
