Russell marched with Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., opened the state’s first racially integrated basketball camp in Mississippi and spoke to students in Boston protesting school segregation, Wu said.

“He was always humble and always thinking about what he could do next,” Wu said.

Gov. Maura Healey said Russell “showed strength and dignity” in the face of racism and “made strong contributions to the civil rights movement.”

“The intensity and passion he brought to the game made him a natural leader off the field,” she said.

She described Russell as a leader and role model who “taught us what it means to stand up for a cause, what it means to dedicate your life to others.”

Current Celtics star Jaylen Brown said he met Russell twice before his death. His smile “would just light up a whole room,” he remembers.

“I think the decisions we make today and tomorrow have an impact on the next generation. We’re here to talk about the legacy of the great Bill Russell, not just what he accomplished on the basketball court, but also how many championships he won off the court and the things he was responsible for in the community.”

He recalled watching highlights of Russell’s games as a child and remembered that the Hall of Famer was all about winning on the field and not personal statistical achievements.

Brown said it’s only fitting that the city decided to name a bridge after the Celtics legend, “because a bridge brings people together.”

“The role that sport plays in our society is to bring people together,” he said. “I know what a role it is to be able to stand in these spaces… and stand up for something. And be willing to work together to make this city a better place.”

Also in attendance at Monday’s ceremony were four children of KC Jones, the late Celtics point guard who won eight championships alongside Russell. Jones led the Larry Bird Celtics to two NBA championships between 1983 and 1988 as one of the league’s first black coaches – the first being Russell himself.

Jones’ son, also named KC, told the Globe that Russell, along with his father and others in this generation, laid the foundation for what the league is today.

“It was very difficult for them to do what they had to do,” Jones said. “Somebody has to be first, and when you’re first, you have to take a lot of that abuse. But you give yourself such a wide berth so that everyone else can follow.”

Jones, who lives in Worcester, said it will always simply be the “Uncle Bill Bridge” for him and his siblings.

The bridge named in Russell’s honor is the North Washington Street Bridge, a short walk from TD Garden and connecting the North End and Charlestown.

State Rep. Aaron Michlewitz joked that Monday’s ceremony ends the century-long dispute over whether the bridge should be known as the “Charlestown Bridge” or the “North End Bridge.”

“There is no better historical figure to end this dispute than the greatest winner in the history of this city,” he said, referring to Russell. “Look at this – the biggest winner in American sports history.”

The bridge has been under construction for about four years, as engineers demolished its aging predecessor in 2020 to replace the structure with a more modern design. The bridge is now open to vehicular traffic as well as pedestrians on the north side and is expected to be fully open next April.

The bridge also includes a section of Boston’s Freedom Trail — which, several participants noted, will now receive a new landmark honoring one of Boston’s civil rights heroes.

“Standing up, marching with Martin Luther King — there were so many different things in history that he was involved in,” state Sen. Sal DiDomenico, who represents Charlestown, told the Globe. “Look at the history books, Bill Russell was there, side by side with these figures who brought about this change.”

Wu also announced that two parks at either end of the bridge will be renamed in honor of Robert “Bobby D.” DeCristoforo, a North End community activist and sports journalist, and Boston Fire Lt. Stephen Minehan, who died fighting a nine-alarm fire in Charlestown in 1994.

A statue of Russell, who won 11 titles with the Celtics as a player and the league’s first Black head coach, was unveiled in City Hall Plaza in 2013 after President Barack Obama presented him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian, in 2010 Honor.

Officials said Monday that when the prospect of a statue was first mentioned to Russell, he said he would be OK with a youth mentoring program being funded in connection with it.

Celtics owner Steve Pagliuca said when people think of civil rights advocacy, they “think of Bill Russell.”

When Russell, who spoke publicly about the racism he endured as a Black man during his career in Boston, died in 2022 at age 88, Obama wrote on social media, “We lost a giant.”

“As great as Bill Russell was, his legacy is far greater – both as a player and as a person,” Obama said. “Perhaps more than anyone, Bill knew what it took to win and what it took to take the lead. On the court, he was the greatest champion in basketball history. Aside from that, he was a civil rights leader – he marched with Dr. King and stood at the side of Muhammad Ali.”

Obama added: “Bill endured insults and vandalism for decades, but that never stopped him from standing up for what was right. “I learned so much from the way he played, the way he coached and how he lived his life.”

This report used material from previous Globe stories.

Camilo Fonseca can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @fonseca_esq and Instagram @camilo_fonseca.reports. Travis Andersen can be reached at [email protected].