Marvin Gilmore

Marvin Gilmore is a humanitarian, entrepreneur, political advisor, honored World War II veteran, musician, and the founder of The Western Front. Mr. Gilmore co-founded the Unity Bank and Trust Company in Roxbury in the late 1960s, the first Black-owned and operated commercial bank in Boston. Later, he served on the Low Income Housing Commission, whose proposed legislation created the Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency. He has also served as the President and CEO of Community Development Corporation of Boston, a community-based, private, nonprofit economic development organization for 42 years. Mr. Gilmore was a primary force in the development of the Southwest Corridor, Roxbury, and the South End. In 2010, he was named a “Chevalier” of The Legion of Honor of France, and was presented with the Governor’s Citation in Massachusetts. He currently serves on the boards of several of Boston’s leading nonprofit institutions. He has also established the “Marvin & Lorna Gilmore Foundation” for African American and International Students at Brandeis University. His biography, Marvin Gilmore: Crusader for Freedom by Paul Katzeff, was published in 2014.