Marvin Gilmore Turns 90

New England Conservatory extends warm birthday greetings to Marvin E. Gilmore Jr. ’51, who studied Percussion at NEC and went on to become a banker and founder of a major Boston community development corporation. Gilmore celebrated his 90th birthday on September 22 with a gala party at the Hyatt Regency Hotel that benefited the Boston CDC, of which he has been President and CEO since 1973.

Always a man-about-town who enjoys stylish clothes and events (in photo, he is attending NEC's Feast of Music), Gilmore was feted by Boston notables including literary light and local television personality Smoki Bacon, Brandeis president Fred Lawrence, and NEC president Tony Woodcock. Among the musical performers was Grammy Award-winner Gregory Porter.

Involved in inner city community affairs since the 1960s, Gilmore was one of the founders of Unity Bank and Trust Company, the first minority owned and operated commercial bank in Boston. He also was proactive in bringing vacant land and buildings back into productive use in minority communities through the creation of the Boston Community Development Corporation.  Over the years, that community-based, private, non-profit organization has worked to provide the leadership, financial incentives, training and support necessary to bring economic growth to the inner city.  One of its signature projects is the Crosstown Industrial Park which houses the Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries’ 104,000 square foot headquarters and the Gilmore Vines Building that serves as headquarters for the Boston CDC but also contains the biotech center of the BU School of Medicine and Boston University Dental Labs.

In 2010, Gilmore added another, much belated honor to his curriculum vita—the French Legion of Honor, France’s highest civilian award.  At that time, he was commended by the French consul general for “his heroic service in World War II” as one of the US Army soldiers who helped liberate France in the Normandy Invasion. What’s more, he was extolled for his “bravery and dedication in the face of discrimination [in the armed forces].” Gilmore became the first African-American in New England to receive the Legion of Honor.

At NEC, Gilmore has been a member of the Board of Overseers since 1996.  He is a lifelong music lover and studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music in Glasgow at the end of World War II before coming to NEC.