He was truly a human being with all its admirable qualities – compassion, kindness, honesty, truthfulness, and he never gave up, whether he was trying to build bridges between black and white communities, or building bridges within the health community between standard therapy and complimentary therapy. It is little wonder that the widest cable bridge ever built carries his name – The Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge(Zakim Bridge, for short) If you are in Boston, you just can’t miss it. His myeloma diagnosis did not slow Lenny down one bit in his effort toward social justice. Nothing could slow Lenny down.

 

At some time during our years with myeloma, we all wonder what will be happening to us during the last month of our lives. But here’s what 46-year old Lenny was up to late in 1999: As 16-year director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). He made a presentation to the sixth annual Team Harmony Program which he began 6 years earlier and brought thousand of young people together with professional sports stars from mainly the Boston area. He wanted these young people to see true heroes and hear the need for keeping their lives focused and productive. Along with that, he wanted to show that there was no need for racial prejudice on the path to success. He said, “These kids have to know that if they stop a racial slur or a bigoted joke, when they stand up for the rights of anyone, they are being as heroic as anyone, they are being as heroic as any great athlete.”

 

During his last days during those final four weeks, he made the fourth round of awards to the “Lenny Fund.” which was started in his honor just after his diagnosis in late 1994. At first, a Chair in social action was proposed for him at Harvard, but in typical Lenny-style he said he would rather have the money set aside so that it could help community groups, even the small ones. He wanted his name to live on in a more basic way. In its first year, the Lenny Fund distributed $50,000 worth of grants, during 1999, this last month of Lenny’s directorship, it gave grants that totaled $279,000.

 

And if that weren’t enough activity during that month, he went to Rome with the Boston Cardinal to participate in a Catholic-Jewish pilgrimage which he and the Cardinal founded. While in Rome, he was named Knight of St. Gregory by Pope John Paul II – one of the highest honors that could be given to lay people by the Catholic Church, and of course, he took pictures with the Pope. Lenny said, “I am in pictures taken with the Pope, Bruce Springsteen and the Dalai Lama. Now, I’ve got to bring them together. He was an avid Bruce Springsteen fan.

 

And he still found time through that last month, to continue his work with the “World of Difference Institute,” which had as one major goal to reach young people who have been convicted of hate crimes. The effort focused upon changing the behavior and attitude of these youths and turning them into activists for violence protection through education and community service. The hope was that if these young people could see the trauma imposed on their victims, they might be sensitized to their own actions.

 

And last but not least, he continued to move forward for a blend of complimentary and traditional treatments for cancer patients. Ever since he was diagnosed with myeloma, he wanted to use integrated therapy, but programs were limited. Lenny was going to change that, and for myeloma patients, his center for integrated therapies is now among there at the top of his legacies along with him being a compassionate fighter and doer. For those with this disease, his efforts to develop a holistic approach to cancer treatment may become more tangibly important than to see his name on the great beautiful bridge that spans from Boston to Charlestown.