Mukiya Baker-Gomez, who played pivotal roles in Boston political campaigns for five decades, died of a heart attack on June 10 at age 74. She was mourned during a memorial service and wake held on June 21 in Roxbury at the Twelfth Baptist Church.

In recent years, Mrs. Baker-Gomez lived in Hyde Park, but she was a past resident of Roxbury and Mattapan. She was active in the campaigns of many leaders over the years, including her close friend, former State Sen. Dianne Wilkerson, former City Councillor Charles Yancey, the late Councillor Chuck Turner, and the late state Rep. Mel King, among others.

She was a Boston Public School graduate and BPS parent who was a strong proponent of reform within the public school system. Last February, she wrote an op-ed in the Reporter calling for an immediate return to an elected school committee, noting that a large majority of Boston voters had supported a resolution on the 2021 municipal ballot to do just that. “It’s time to move on from the 30-year failed experiment,” she asserted. The school board has been appointed by the mayor since 1991.

Mrs. Baker-Gomez leaves her husband, Kevin Gomez, their children Talisha and Kenyatta; her five siblings and four grandchildren.