Melvin Herbert King (born 20 October 1928) is an American politician, community organizer, and educator, who holds the position of Senior Lecturer Emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in their Department of Urban Studies and Planning. In 1973, King was elected as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives' 9th Suffolk district, a post he held until early 1983. King was the runner-up in the 1983 Boston mayoral election, against Raymond Flynn.