There it is. My name is Amanda Shang and it is a blessing to be with all of you as we honor the history and the future of this community. To keep our spirits rising, please welcome a late breaking
special guest, senior pastor from the historic 12 Baptist Church, Reverend Willie Bodick. Good evening. Let us prepare for
the Black National Anthem. Lift every voice and sing till earth and heaven ring ring with the harmonies
of liberty. Let our rejoiceing rise high as the liing skies. Let it resound,
loud as the rolling sea. Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us.
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us.
Facing the rising sun of our new day began. Let us march on till victory is won.
Please give another round of applause for Reverend. Welcome to the First Church. To officially open our program, I'd like to share a poem that I wrote for this occasion.
It's called Boston Breathing Revolution. Boston is a body that learned how to breathe rebellion 250 years ago. Its lungs filled with harbor wind and exhaled insurrection.
Men moved like midnight metaphors across the Massachusetts waterline. Tea tumbling like trembling empires into a harbor that held the secret like a clenched fist. But revolution was never really about tea. It was about
the tremor of a people tired of swallowing sounds. Boston has always had a mouth made for megaphones. Cobblestones still remember the rhythm of resistance. Boats beating ballots into being. banners breathing in the
bitter cold while courage climb the courthouse steps. The city knows how protest becomes poetry, how pamphlets become prophecy, how a whisper becomes a wildfire of voices. Because history here
does not sleep in textbooks. It walks. It marches. It moves through neighborhoods where grandmothers remember the long grammar of liberation. Where children inherit courage like a family heirloom passed palm to palm.
Boston is not just where a revolution began. It is where revolution kept learning new names. abolition, suffrage, civil rights, labor lines. Black lives lifted like lanterns through the long
nights of injustice. Each generation gathering the courage the way the harbor gathers tide, slow, steady, unstoppable. Because freedom here is not a finished
sentence. It is a breath still being taken, a pulse still pushing through the arteries of a city that understands the past is not a museum. It is a mirror. And when Boston
looks into it 250 years later, the reflection still asks, "Who among you is brave enough to keep the revolution breathing?" Thank you. Thank you. Now, please join me in
welcoming a woman whose leadership is a pillar of this space, the executive director of the Utilitarian Universalist Urban Ministry, Reverend Margaret Earl. Thank you for that beautiful poem,
Amanda. Thank you for that beautiful music, Reverend Bodrick. Uh, welcome. I am pleased to stand here with my colleagues who you will hear from in a moment. Uh, and welcoming you to our Roxberry meeting house. This is
the city's oldest surviving woodframe church building, a Boston landmark, and home to pivotal events during this city and this nation's history. We are so honored to welcome Mayor Woo, Lieutenant
Governor Driscoll, and so many of our elected officials here today. Also so pleased to welcome the city of Boston's team guiding this event led by Alex Meadows. Thank you for celebrating Roxberry's history with us.
We welcome today members of the Roxberry Historical Society and the Roxberry Collaborative who are seated here. These are Roxberry historians and champions of this neighborhood's history and role in the revolution, often
without a broader acknowledgement and support. and I'm so glad to see them honored today. A special thanks to the staff of the urban ministry who've put so much time and care into this event to make this happen. And if they're here,
just raise your hands. Staff, thank you. The Puritans gathered First Church Roxberry on this site in the 1630s, but the history of people on this land goes back much further. We acknowledge that
we gather on the traditional homelands of the Massachusett tribe. This hill, the land on which our restored building stands, has a documented and archaeological history of use by the Massachusetting back thousands of years.
And when Henry Knox and his team traveled from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston, he passed through many tribal lands. As we reopen this space today, we commit to learning a fuller history of the people who were here long before the
Puritans and to sharing that history. 50 years ago, the Unitarian Universalist Urban Ministry inherited this campus from the congregation that had continuously worshiped here since its founding. 10 years ago, we began its restoration. First, the exterior paint
and repairs to the steeple clock. Then our green space, recreating the circular drive where parishioners once rode their horses on. And five years ago, we began the most extensive renovation phase, the interior. This is our first event since
completing the renovation, our first event in five years. What what a way to open back up. The board of directors of the urban ministry have been committed to returning this building in service of the Roxberry
community. The journey at the outset was very daunting. There were decades of deferred maintenance, peeling paint, broken shutters, uh flaking P plaster, but the board has been steadfast in their commitment to see this through. And I want them to stand and be
acknowledged, both current and former board members of the urban ministry. Please. We seek to ensure that this building advances our commitment to racial, social, and economic justice in greater Boston and shares a fuller history of both indigenous and African-American
people whose stories are woven into every beam and every rafter. Thank you for beginning with us on the next phase of our journey. And I'm pleased to introduce my colleague uh Shemica Harrison, the director of facilities who was instrumental in shephering this
restoration. Thank you. Good afternoon everyone. Good afternoon. I would just say that it feels good to stand here today to say that I was born and raised in this beautiful city of Roxbury. And I would also say it feels good to
know as a young girl seeing this church up on the hill, not knowing exactly how it function, what they do. And to be able to sit on the board on the committee and oversee and shepherd this beautiful renovation of the meeting
house feels so good. And lastly, I always say it feels good to stand here before you and see all these beautiful people fill our pews. And next up is to welcome the community into this space. Thank you. And I will pass it on to my colleague Carsten Cash,
the director of the youth program. >> Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. >> Good afternoon. I am really uh excited and moved to um be standing here before you. Uh I like Shemica grew up in this neighborhood and so it just feels good
to be here in this full circle moment. Uh particularly as the director of the Roxbury Youth Program. Uh so it was always instilled in me through programs that we participated in as teens that we would go off become successful and then
circle back and reinvest in the community that helped reared us. So um that's what drives me, that's what motivates and excites me to come to work every day uh and work with our our our young people. Um, so we are the Roxray
Youth Program and we are a youth development program for high school students who live in the greater Boston area. Our motto is learn history, make change. So, I'm going to ask you to uh join me in welcoming uh a group of our
students um the Roxray Youth Program. From my right to left will be Sean, Sarah, Stephanie, Yasmin, Lera, and Noah. Sarah, come on. >> Good afternoon all.
I'll be speaking on the behalf of the Roxberry Youth Program by and invite Lieutenant Lieutenant Governor uh Kim Drizzle and Mayor Michelle Woo to receive this gift as an honor from the Roxberry Youth Program. Thank you very much.
>> Really appreciate that, guys. Thank you. Of >> course. Mayor, what do you think? All right, the back's even better, I call. All right. >> Can we get a group of you guys closer? Thank you.
>> Thank you. >> Please give a round of another round of applause. We are moving into a sacred part of our program. When we talk about the American Revolution, we often look at the statues, but today we are centering the
everyday revolutionaries. The excuse me, the black and indigenous ancestors who resisted, who built, and who dreamed of a freedom that was not yet written for them. To tell this story, I'm bringing up a council of visionaries who have dedicated their
lives to uncovering the truths that have been hidden in the margins. They're going to pass the torch to one another to take us through the timeline of Roxberry's greatness. Leading us off is Dr. Noel Trent.
As the president and CEO of the Museum of AfricanAmerican History, she is a guardian of our legacy, ensuring that the global impact of black Bostonians is never forgotten. She'll be passing the word to Dart
Adams, a historian, an author who is a walking encyclopedia of Boston culture. Dart doesn't just know the dates. He knows the heartbeat of the streets and
how our revolutionary past informs our creative present. Then we'll hear from Ry Shepard, a masterful storyteller and children's author who gives a voice to the figures
history tried to silence, reminding us that the seeds of revolution are often planted in the stories we tell our children. And finally, Professor Bob Allison from SuffK University will bring us home, anchoring us in the specific
gritty history of the Henry Knox Trail and the strategic brilliance that lived right here in Roxbury. This is our lineage. This is our story. Please welcome up Dr. Tren. The stage is
yours. Good a I'm a little shorter. Here we go. >> Good afternoon. >> Good afternoon. >> It's an honor to be here today. Um, as I look at all the commemorative events happening here in our great
Commonwealth, I have affectionately called it, you're welcome, America. We started this thing for you. We did the hard work. I am here to reflect on an often overlooked yet significant perspective
of America's revolutionary history. the history of black people in our city and their own understanding of freedom and fate. Well-meaning people sometimes suggest that black Austinonians derived
their ideas of liberty from John Adams or John Hancock. Nothing against those men. I'm grateful for their contributions. Yet that framing quietly denies the intellectual agency of people
of African descent who were fully capable of drawing their own conclusion about oppression and justice. Consider Christmas Addicts, a self-emancipated man and who escaped slavery who traveled as a sailor and
carried a deep outrage at occupying British forces. When he stepped forward at the Boston Massacre, his defiance was not borrowed from a pamphlet. It was forged in his own experience. We should extend that same intellectual
dignity to all of black Boston. This was an international city. Black men and women who worked on wars and around the wars. Crude ships moved through various public spaces and engaged with ideas flowing in from every corner of the
Atlantic world. That was our city. They debated, dreamed, and fought for a better future. Many lived in families of mixed statuses. Some enslaved, some free, some owned by different owners.
their fates bound in the fates of their enslavers. They understood as clearly as anyone what was at stake. The Knox Trail commemoration is laudable and evacuation day, which is coming up,
is worth celebrating, but we must not let that celebration obscure what the British departure meant for black Boston. When loyalist owners fled, they took their enslaved people with them, tearing apart families and scattering a
community. Many never saw their loved ones again. At the wars end, that dispersal continued. Some to Canada, some reinsslaved in the Caribbean, and others eventually reaching Sierra Leone. You see, the American Revolution came at
a cost. And some of that cost was borne by black Boston. Today, as we commemorate the Knox Trail, I ask that we hold multiple truths at once, celebrating Henry Knox's vision
and the liberation of this city while honoring the intellect, sacrifice, and profound losses that happened to the black community. Together, these truths deepen our understanding of who we are as a city, a
commonwealth, and a nation. Thank you. Now, please join me in welcoming our next speaker, local historian Dar Adams. Good afternoon everyone. >> Thank you Dr. Um
being a historian means that you have to deal with the hard truths and realities. There's what's framed for the public and there's what you learn and what you understand. Now Dr. Trent laid down some serious things
that most people never think about. Another thing to consider is that black Bostononians constantly feel erased. We feel overlooked. We feel the stories are told do not include us or we're just
window dressing. For that reason, I'd like to list several black Massachusetts residents who changed history forever. Onimus. In 1721, Onimus started smallox
um inoculations. And that changed history in Massachusetts and what later became the United States of America going forward forever. uh Paul Cuffy.
This man freed became a businessman and then he fought for freedom and equality for all his people. We have Phyllis Weekley. Phyllis Weekley
who was brought over on a ship called Phyllis that she was named after in the ownership of the Wheatley family. Yes, she learned how to read and write and she wrote poems and when the revolution began, she became a
celebrity. She wrote poems and wrote pieces that moved people. And once America became the United States of America, she passed away due to complications of childbirth. and she's buried in Cops Hill burying ground
and the part of the space that has no gravestone markers is bare and that's where we know where our black Bostononian ancestors are buried. Now I also like to list Peter Salem, Salem Poor, Titus Coburn, Seymour Burr, a
Grippa Hall, Barzeli Lou, Philip Abbott, Ko How, Alexander Amos, Henry Hill, Jeremy Jonah, and I can keep going on and on and on. These men and women
fought for freedom, their freedom. And and in 1780, the magic Massachusetts legislature put forth uh a document that declared that
we would be free, all of us. And black Massachusetts residents took that to heart and started suing for their freedom. If you're going to write this with a quil pen on parchment, then Massachusetts should live up to the
words that it wrote on this document. And that is the reality that we live with to this day. Black Boston continues to push forward the idea of liberty and the reality that justice should be open
to everyone. And now I'm going to pass things over to my distinguished RA. Thank you, Dart. Adams. 11 months before Knox's cannons reached
Roxberry, alarm riders scampered through the countryside to alls through Roxbury. And we all know the midnight ride of Paul Rivere.
But we don't know the daylight ride of Able Boston because I just wrote it. He was a 9-year-old who rode from Firmingham to Newton warning for
farmers. The red coats are out. The regulars are about. His owners didn't teach him to read or write. So I'll tell his story simple and
straight without the poet's spark. When I was a boy of nine, I rode a horse from town to town, blaring my blaring my grandfather's horn.
Re for months, revolution was in the air. My owner and his friends refused to pay the taxes the king demanded. They boasted, "If it comes to war, we will win and be
free of a king who reigns over the sea and taxes as he please." But they didn't say, "Would I, unlike my grandfather's whose horn I played, be
free?" He was a stolen African when but a babe. Now in his Firmingham grave I kept his
horn by my side. And on that mourn when war arrived I blew and pulled farmers from their morning chores. I rode town to town shouting,
"The king's soldiers have started a war. I rode for a freedom bigger than what my owner wanted. Free from an English king.
Free from slavery. April 19th, June 17th, March 17th. These dates are central to the story of the revolution and some communities, the
communities in which the events of those days happened have taken them as a marker of civic identity, an idea around which the community can every year rally
in commemoration. And yet every day for 10 months between May of 1775 and March of 1776, the ground upon which we stand now was
the front lines of this war. Roxbury was the point that kept the British from leaving Boston. And every day cannon fired from the hills of Roxbury into the British fortifications in Boston. And
fire was returned to this ground. Roxbury was a battleground. As every day firing happened on Boston Neck, the Brownhouse, and George's Tavern were the frontline sites of almost daily sieges
between one side and another. And this really disturbed changed this farming town. Roxbury at that time was home to about 2,000 people living in about 200 houses. 12 of the houses had shops
within them. 90 tanneries along Stonybrook, mills along Stonybrook, and all were silent during this time of war. And Roxbury becomes
the base of the Continental Army's camp. Actually, first it was the militia, the militia from Rhode Island. And in fact, today we have representatives of the Rhode Island militia with us. Farnim's regiment, the gentleman standing in the back. you should talk to.
His ancestor was part of that unit here in Roxbury in 1775 and 1776. And so Roxbury stopped Roxbury produced every year 1,500
actually Roxbury had 1500 apple trees producing about 1500 gallons of cider every year from the Roxbury russet apples that grew here. But by the time of the evacuation of Boston, all of those trees had been cut down. first to form barriers to keep the British from
advancing across Boston Neck and then to be part of the fortifications carried in March of 1776 to Dorchester Heights. Roxbury really changes during these months of war and the fortifications
here prevent the British from advancing further. So Roxbury was home not to the 2,000 or so farmers and their families, but to several hundred continental troops from across the country gathered here. Men and officers who are going to
change history. Men like Henry Knox about whom we have heard a great deal. And Knox built the forts at the high fort on high at Highland Park. A fort that so impressed General Washington, he
sent Knox on his expedition to get the cannon from Fort Ticonderoga and then made Knox his commander of artillery for the rest of the war. Knox, a Boston book seller, had not expected to spend his life, spend the next eight years as a
soldier, and in fact none of these men who gathered in Roxbury had expected this. But all rose to this challenge, doing what needed to be done at this moment. Rufus Putnham and Josiah Waters who built these lines and fortifications
which the British could not penetrate. John Adams wrote to a colleague here in Massachusetts that these young fellows would give strangers no content contemptable idea of the military
knowledge of Massachusetts in the sublimeest chapters of the art of war. They learned they learned quickly out out of necessity. And also here in Roxbury, George Washington met for the
first time Nathaniel Green, an officer from Rhode Island. And what impressed Washington about Green was that his camp here in Roxbury was immaculate. Unlike the disaster of Cambridge,
Nathaniel Green's men knew how to dig proper latrines and do other things necessary to ensure the health of the men in camp. Washington immediately brings Green over to Cambridge to try to restore order there. And we can think
about the fact that these three men who first met in Roxbury would be together for the rest of the war. And in fact, when the war ended 8 years after they first met, there were only three general officers still in service in the
Continental Army who had begun their service during the siege of Boston. George Washington, Henry Knox, and Nathaniel Green. And of course, no story about Roxbury and his contributions to the war is
complete without talking about the lamented Joseph Warren, the leader of Roxbury and the leader of the provincial congress and fell at Bunker Hill. Peter Oliver, the loyalist, said later that
had Warren lived, Washington would have been unknown. And we have no idea where Warren's career would have taken him, nor where Warren would have taken the young country had he survived the Battle of Bunker Hill. Nothing about any of these
individuals was pre-ordained. Their paths were not set, but they chose this path. They chose it because they knew they had to. And Roxbury itself was left after the British evacuation
in something of a disaster. Jeremy Bellnap, who goes on to start the Massachusetts Historical Society, visited in October of 1775 and said, "Nothing struck me with greater horror than the present condition of Roxbury.
That once busy, crowded street is now occupied only by picket guards. The houses are deserted, the windows taken out, and many shots poles visible. Some have been burnt, others pulled down to make room for the fortifications.
Abigail Adams visited a few weeks after the British evacuation and she was astonished at the extent and extent and length of the defensive lines in Roxbury built by these untrained men who understood how to build fortifications.
That impressed her. But Roxbury, she said, looks more injured than Boston. That is, the houses look more torn to pieces. Roxbury had suffered during this occupation when it was the heart of the
Continental Army's camp. Before the siege, Roxbury's property values have been at about almost 20,000. Afterwards, they've lost about a quarter of their value. 89 property owners have been driven off, some because they chose
to remain loyal to the crown. And more than a quarter of the property value in town was lost. losses of about 24,000 pounds, the equivalent today of about $5.5 million Roxbury suffered and 200 individual
property owners, that is about every householder in the town, shared in this. Some had damages of 300 or more. About $70,000 each that people lost because their home
was the site of this revolution. The workhouse which stood just below the high fort that Henry Knox put on at Highland Park now was unusable and the town actually petitioned the Massachusetts Provincial Congress saying
that the the poor in the workhouse can't be employed there and others other newly made poor made because of the turmoil of war would be calling for support. Many of the men in Roxbury were not able to help rebuild because of course they were
off fighting with the Continental Army and the Roxbury Town Committee. I want to especially point this out to our representatives from the provincial government asked for a tax break. They could not pay more than a third of
what they usually did and they would have more expenses to take care of the people of Roxbury now that the British were gone in Massachusetts was once again governing itself and the provincial government
allowed them in two nights tax tax break. But they made the sacrifice not hoping to gain. In fact, they did not. But they knew it was necessary for their common good, for the good of themselves
as well as those who had come after. Three years earlier in 1772, Roxbury's town meeting in the house that stood on this site in response to Boston's town meetings
call for the towns to resist British intrusion wrote that under the present critical and alarming situation of our public affairs, there is a loud call to everyone to awake from security and in
earn earnest to strive to secure his liberty lest he politically perished. Our pious forefathers died with the pleasing hope that we, their children, should live free. Let
none disturb the ashes of those heroes by selling their birthight. They passed this on to us dying as Emerson said about another fight to leave their children free. And it is our goal that
our children and grandchildren continue to do so thanks to the work that they so far no thus so far nobly advance. Thank you. Before concluding this end of our programming, I want to welcome up
Jonathan Lane to discuss the legacy of the Henry Knox Noble Canon Train. Before I came up here, Dusty said one of the meanest things that anybody's ever said to me, which is, "You had one minute." It's tough after two years of trying to
put this program together to try and uh condense it down to a few minutes, but I just want to say two things. Uh one of which is uh as it was 250 years ago, we did not get to this place. We will not get to evacuation day. We will not get
to the 4th of July without about without without the cooperation and the collaboration of so many communities and so many groups and so many people. So in the spirit of that I'm going to thank uh just a number of people and number of
organizations. First of all, Saratoga 250 who I know are not here, but I want you to know that they have been steadfast partners in the whole Knox train. Uh the the the sleds you saw today uh the cannons you saw today on the sleds uh were provided by Saratoga
250. Uh they were keen partners to make sure that Henry Knox's story got all the way from Fort Ticonderoga all the way to Dorchester Heights. Similarly, all of the groups and organizations across the state, Birkshshire 250, the Springfield National Armory Historic Site, the uh
our friends at the Worcester Historical Society, these are all organizations and groups who who came together uh to work on this event. I think at last count, I had 112 different groups and organizations that have worked on the Knox Trail to get here. And and again, I
just want to say we wouldn't be here without the steadfast leadership of Governor Healey and Lieutenant Governor Driscoll, uh their office of travel and tourism and MH50 Sheila Green, you're here somewhere. Thank you so much for all of your leadership
and and hard work. Uh Mayor Woo, you've always been such a steadfast promoter of Boston's history. Uh so thank you very much. to all the people here in Roxbury. I'm happy to report that the stories that have been illustrated today and
many many more are being talked about and that's really exciting for us. We are going to leave the next generation and the generation after that in a much better historical place than we ourselves inherited and it's because of you. So, thank you all very much.
Please give another round of applause to Dr. Noel Trends, daughters, Bob, Ray, and Jonathan. Now, it is my honor to welcome someone who needs no introduction.
Someone who has been really leading across the state to make sure all of the stories of Massachusetts are told as part of the 250th through Massachusetts 250 to bring remarks from the Commonwealth.
Please join me in welcoming our Lieutenant Governor Kim Drisco. Let's hear it for Amanda. This is a hard job introducing everyone, coming up with some amazing poetry. Uh,
good afternoon everyone and thank you Amanda for that warm introduction. Um, it's wonderful to be here in Roxberry with so many amazing partners, historians, students, community members to celebrate this historic milestone. It's quite a moment. Look around where
we are. Think about this amazing space and what it's meant for generations who have come before us. I have to say it's not every day that you also get to ring a Paul Rivere bell along with the mayor to call the gathering to order. Little Road Burn to remind me of it later
today. But what a special way to begin a program that honors the spirit of the revolution right here in Boston. I want to thank Mary Margaret Earl and the team at UYU Urban Ministry. Thank you for hosting us and allowing us to use this
special space to uh Jonathan Lane and the entire Revolution 250 partnership and all of the organizers and volunteers. I have to say Jonathan had this idea for a concept. Let's recreate the Knox Trail two years ago. You pulled it off. This
is amazing. Without you, there's no doubt we wouldn't be standing here today. I want to recognize members of our team. Kate Fox, the director of the Mass Office of Travel and Tourism, Sheila Green from MA250 have done some really great work to bring together partners as well. And I certainly want to acknowledge Mayor
Woo. It's always great to be in your presence as we're recognizing this amazing history. And we are not done, but this is a great year and glad to have you here. And all of our elected officials, Rep. Moran, Senator Miranda, local official, Senator Collins, all the local city councilors who were here. It
really does mean a lot to bring elected officials together to be able to celebrate the important history of where we're all lucky enough to be in a position to help represent. I also want to extend special appreciation to the Daughters of the American Revolution. As uh as Jonathan Nvers have mentioned, there are a number of groups who have
come together. This is my third Knox Trail event and it showcases the historians, the reenactors, the people who are weaving together this rich tapestry of Massachusetts history in the regions and the communities they live in and that they love. These are labors of love and thank you to all of them. And
certainly to Dusty Roads who does tell us all we have one minute or two minutes or three minutes. Um, it's an honor to be here with so many distinguished leaders and partners and um, I'm really I think this gathering today to commemorate one of the most extraordinary stories,
Henry Knox's noble train of artillery. In the winter of 1775 and 1776, Knox and his team moved massive cannons and ammunition across rugged terrain from Fort Ticonderoga through towns and
villages over rivers and frozen roads, without paved highways, without engines, without trucks. They relied on local knowledge, on shared labor, trust between neighbors, and a deep belief that what they were
doing together mattered. That achievement was not made possible by one person or one place alone. It succeeded because the entire region across towns, across state lines, chose
cooperation over isolation and collective effort over individual ease. It was bold and unlikely mission, one powered by strategy, determination, and the collaboration of everyday people
along the way. And that's why it's especially meaningful that we're here today in Roxberry on the final one of the near final stop of the trail in the city where the arrival of those cannons ultimately helped force the British evacuation of Boston.
What happened here was not just a stop along the way. It was a moment of resolve when communities understood what was at stake and chose to act. As we approach the 250th anniversary of our nation's founding,
the Knox 250 trail offers us more than just a historical marker. It gives us a framework for reflection. It reminds us that independence, when achieved through collaboration and perseverance and shared sacrifice and
through the belief that collective action could shape a better future. Well, those lessons feel especially important today. At a time when division can feel louder than common purpose, this trail and today's ceremony invite
us to think beyond what divides us and remember what's possible when we work together town by town, community by community. These are the outcomes that are going to improve people's lives. I'm especially proud of this trail and the markers. We have markers that we've
made all along uh the trail. They denote the important stops along the way, and they're going to continue to live on in Massachusetts, connecting cities and towns, historians and residents, students and visitors, and serving as a living reminder that our shared history
belongs to all of us. I'm especially grateful that we heard from speakers reminding us of the shared history that we didn't read about in our history books, that they didn't talk about in school. This year, we have an opportunity to shine a light in those spaces, on those sacrifices, on those
individuals, and that collective action. Today, here in Boston, as we move through this chapter of the journey, we're also looking ahead to the many ways Massachusetts will continue to lead in honoring the ideals that shaped our country. We may be here today to mark a
milestone of the semiquincentennial. Rolls right off the tongue, doesn't it? But the history and markers that we dedicate along the Knox Trail are meant to endure. They will live on in communities, ensuring that this remarkable story and the lesson of what
collective action can achieve continues to inspire generations long after this anniversary year has passed. So, thank you all for being part of this celebration and for helping keep these stories alive. And it's certainly my
pleasure to invite our partner in government at the local level, Mayor Michelle Mood, to offer remarks as well. Thank you so much, Lieutenant Governor, for your leadership and for all that your the administration has done for our Commonwealth and certainly for the city of Austin. We're really grateful to
partner with you on this and so many other things. Um, good afternoon to everyone. Thank you for joining us in this incredible, special, sacred space. You can kind of feel it when you're in here, right? And some of that is the
five years of investment and careful stewardship and how gorgeous this incredible home looks. So, thank you to Urban Mary Margaret Earl and and to all of the UYU urban ministry and and leaders for making sure that this could
be the most beautiful version of of this home. And thank you to everyone for filling this space with the continued spirit as Amanda was saying, the breath of revolution and the chance to be in person together talking about those
stories, passing that palm to palm, person to person. This is a story of Boston and it is a story of Roxbury that came before Boston that undergurtded what will become the United States of America. It can feel
like a uh weight and serious responsibility to serve in a line of those in our democracy connected to this community. I want to thank all of those who are bearing that weight and
stepping into that leadership. My colleagues in elected office who've been referenced before, of course, Lieutenant Governor, but also Senator Liz Miranda, City Councelor Julia Mahia, State Rep. John Moran, Senator Nick Collins, City Councelor Henry Santana, who did I miss?
Okay. Uh, and to all of our colleagues who have made it possible for uh these commemorations to happen. I also want to thank and recognize, of course, Jonathan Lane and our Massachusetts 250 partners. We've been talking about this moment for so long and it's finally here. You had you had a minute, but we have many more
minutes. And Dusty Roads and um all of the partners who make our Boston 250 partnership possible. Uh we are thanking and and here uh in gratitude for Meet Boston, State Street, the Boston Foundation, John Hancock, Eastern Bank,
Liberty Mutual, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, PNC Bank, and so many others whose resources made it possible for us to have the fullest commemorations. We've been partnering with Embrace Boston and the Everyone 250 Coalition and Mari Paris Jeff and Dart
Adams leading that effort. Thank you to the Hamilton Garrett drum line for greeting our procession today. the Roxbury Collaborative and Roxbury Historical Society for giving it giving your heart and your energy to make sure that we could um know the stories to
celebrate. Illuminous Boston and all the local artists, poet, historians, storytellers, musicians uh and to each and every one of our speakers today and and Reverend Bodrick who also shared uh some some words through song. Uh and
first lady Bodrick, hello. Thank you for making this city the continued foundation of revolution. There are some terms about Roxberry that are known around the country and around the world and it gets to the very core of how fundamental this community is.
Roxberry pudding stone, Roxberry russets, the very foundation and bedrock that everything else was built on. the nourishment and the sustenance that made it possible for revolution to blossom.
The building that we are standing in, as Mary Margaret Earl explained, is the oldest woodframe church building in all of Boston, but it is the fifth meeting house built on this site. Its predecessor, the fourth meeting house, stood on these grounds during our
revolution as a signal station for the army. Today, First Church continues to serve as a signal and all those within this space who come together for the common good. Less than two weeks from now, we will be
celebrating the official day on which the British were evacuated. That victory that made the victory of the American Revolution eventually possible. Henry Knox's noble train of artillery artillery led by that workingclass son
of immigrants BPS alum Henry Knox could only have happened with a long chain of all those who stood up from this community. It might be those individual names that you've heard, and some of our historians
reference this in the stories, in our classrooms, in the usual history books that for 250 years we've passed down. But that story often overlooks the critical role that towns like Roxberry played and residents, people, black and
indigenous, women representing all cultures in this international city whose names have been lost in those victories. This was the first town the British would need to pass through after crossing what was then called the Boston Neck, that narrow strip of land
connecting the town of Boston to the rest of the colonies. And so it was a critical point for fortification, for communication, for collaboration. It was only because of this point
and the grueling expedition connected through here that we could purge the British from our city. Knox set up cannons at top Leecher Point, Cobble Hill, and Roxberry's own Lamb's Dam, which would have been about about a mile north of where we are now,
told the current day Northampton Street. And it was the efforts of those community members while the noble train was advancing providing the diversion. They fired for days from those other points holding the attention of the
British while patriot troops hauled cannons up Dorchester Heights and did the impossible placing them within striking distance of the warships looming in the harbor. And at that point the greatest military might that the world knew. It was these farmers,
merchants, community members, the so-called untrained um residents, and I won't I won't double down on the comments about Cambridge, but um or about property taxes for that matter, uh
that these stories are not complete and the stories that we are here telling in this moment for this generation must do better. Often the men that we celebrate in these stories grappled with the great
hypocrisy of the revolution. White patriots fighting for freedom on the front lines with pistols in hand while their families back at home. The wealth that they survived on was built by holding the chains of so many others.
Black revolutionaries knew what it was like to live without freedom. and they knew that being subject to laws that you ha had no hand in writing was wrong. So they took every opportunity to stand up for freedom. At every military
engagement from Lexington and conquered to Bunker Hill and up Dorchester Heights and right here in Roxbury, dozens of black revolutionaries, Silas, Abel, Willoughby, Noah, Jacob, William, and so many more came to reinforce the army, to
man the cannons and load the guns, to turn the tide in our battle for the future of Boston, hoping that that freedom would be felt by all. We've seen tragically few of their stories preserved. And even what we know
today has taken generations to uncover. That must change and it's on us to make sure that it does. The stories that we choose to tell matter. They show our residents and they'll show visitors from around the world what it is that we care
about. The full truth or a narrow narrative that only reinforces a few and the privileged. Boston cannot be the cradle of liberty if we fail to recognize and rec reckon with the complicated truth of every
moment in our history. And that's why we went all in on today's program, bringing in reenactors to represent the fullness of who was present, portraying some of the black revolutionaries who served at every stage of the siege of Boston and local
historians whose work has helped shape who we are as a city and what we know about our stories. Because names like Abel Benson, who warned the patriots of approaching British regulars, should be known and celebrated as widely as Paul Rivere. And
that's why in just a few minutes, we'll also see dancers, artists, poets showing us what revolutionary means in this moment today. It's also why we chose to go big on this event here in Roxberry, a place of
revolutionary significance, not just 250 years ago, but way before that and every day since then. That's why I'm so excited about our new historic markers program. So today, I'm excited to announce that we are investing $650,000 through the city of Boston's Brown Fund
into a three-part effort to uncover the hidden histories of Boston and make sure they are firmly embedded in the mosaic of our city. So three parts. Sorry, Dusty. I know this is more than a minute now. First, in partnership with the Boston Commemoration Commission and Everyone
250, we'll be installing 25 new historic markers throughout the city in time for the 250th on the 4th of July. Thank you so much again to Dart and Emari and the partnership from everyone 250. There's already been four markers installed across downtown Boston, the South End,
the historic 12th Baptist Church, and we are looking forward to ensuring that these are permanent markers and beacons. Secondly, we've created the historic marker community grant. This will ensure that community members are directly part of the storytelling. So, this will
provide some of the a little bit of the the support so that local organizations have resources needed to research and propose new historical markers that tell Boston's full story. Third, our office of historic preservation will lead the work of crafting and installing even more of
those markers as this research is completed in time for us to celebrate Boston's 400th anniversary coming up in 2030. We know that sifting through our history can open up feelings both of pride and inspiration, but also of painful
reflection. We're telling the stories in some cases that past generations chose to bury, to leave untold because they might reopen old wounds. But we know in Boston that we cannot administer true justice and embrace the
full revolutionary culture of innovation. We can't deliver progress at the very foundation of our city without confronting and contending with our entire history. And so at the city of Boston, we are ready and eager to do just that. And if you want to join us in
this work, please go to boston.gov/250 or visit the Brownf fund website. We'll have lots of ways for everyone to get involved certainly from now until July 4th, but even afterwards and as we're getting ready for our 400th anniversary as a community. Together, we will shine
a light on history that for too long has been relegated to the shadows and that is needed, especially in this moment, to make sure that the next generation can follow in the fullest their potential. Thank you so much everyone for being here. And as we are moving through the Knox
Trail commemoration, we are also bringing up historical markers and community representatives for so I'd like to invite Bernard Green from the Brookline Board of Selectmen to come forward so we can present the first marker. Good thing.
>> Can I invite all of our elected officials to join us for uh for this photo of the first partner? >> And mayor, would you mind grabbing the um Yeah, absolutely. >> Get everybody in. How are we feeling?
>> We come in the middle. Come on. Exactly like we've done this before. >> Tell me where. Great. Thank you. >> Perfect. Great idea. This is for you. >> Exactly.
>> Thank you. Uh Brighton, you want me to invite our representative from Brighton up as well? Can I invite our representative from Brighton up as well? If there's anybody here representing Brighton that we can uh present this marker. >> We'll do that one next.
Okay, >> great. >> Last but not least, our representatives from Roxberry who will be accepting the marker. Could we be joined by the Roxbury Historical Society? Any of the representatives who
are there? We'd appreciate it. >> The more the barrier. >> Congratulations. See you. >> I could go here. >> Want to come over here? >> Yeah. It's getting crowded over here. >> Why don't you come right up in front here? >> No, that's all right.
>> We want to be able to see you. Everybody here say 1 2 3 >> Roberryberry. Congratulations. Can we give another round of applause
for Lieutenant Governor Driscoll and Mayor Moon as they are finding their way to their seats. I didn't get a chance to discuss or introduce Mayor Woo, but I do
want to read what was supposed to be read about her. No, you're amazing. You're amazing. I love this. Uh, Mayor Woo, as someone who doesn't just talk about the values of the revolution, she lives them. And one
year and two days ago, this person went down to Washington DC and stood up for our city. She did our city proud and reminded us what courage in the face of power can
look like. She has been pushing Boston 250 to be above that. Austin and the everyday revolutionaries past and present that shaped our city and our nation. And I wanted to read that because we admire your bravery, Mayor
Ruth. So, thank you so much. Now, I know you all are looking around and saying, "What's going to happen next?" Because all of these boards are parting the windows, right? But this is my chance to have you get comfortable and get to know your neighbors. I live right down the street.
I'm not going to tell you where cuz it's too close you could walk. But I do live in this neighborhood 5 minutes away. And I want to know who's my neighbor. So I want to take this opportunity for y'all to look to your left or your right if you don't have anybody
to your left and say, "Hey neighbor." >> Okay. So y'all in the back can do a little bit better than that. There's way more people in here. So look to your right or look to your left and say, "Hey neighbor, where are all my Rox Roxberry people at
in the building?" That's how we're repping for Roxberry. Okay, I got this side of the room. How many on this side of the room? Make some noise. Make some noise. We're on 02119. You all have to make some noise. With that being said, I'm very honored to
introduce the next section of our programming. Now, we heard about Illuminous from Mayor Woo. And I'm really excited for this quote because there's an amazing, incredible local artist that are a part of the Roxberry
cohort led by illuminous Jeff Grant and Diane. So, can I get a round of applause for them? I think all the windows are covered now. Okay, perfect. We've seen the honors and we've heard the history. So, now let's
see the light. In just a moment, we're going to experience a spectacular light show, a Boston weekend. The team is going to dim the lights. So while we do that, I want
you to take exactly 60 seconds to tell someone hello. >> But without waiting, before you do it, I want you to look them in the eyes and tell them hello. So I'm going to give you a minute. I
just want us to move the community right where we're sitting right now. I know it's a little awkward sometimes looking somebody in the eye, isn't it? Especially someone you don't know. But this, you know, the eyes are the window to the soul. So look at each other and just say
hello. And look in their eyes, too. I just saw someone do it to me. Hello. Hello. Thank you, Shica. Yes. I love the conversation. This is
beautiful. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Oh, I told you we were going to light it up. >> So, I hope you all have a new friend. You want to lift it with me? >> Yeah, that's what I'm going to put it down. >> Oh, you all you're taking I'm talking.
>> Yep. >> I hope you all have made a good friend, a new friend. You exchanged some information with each others. You told what neighborhood you live in, what you're representing today. I mean, I didn't say I had such sex with
people. Okay. Hello, Auntie E F. Hello. Another living legendary box office. That being said, I don't know if I can read my spirits, but we're going to try. We're going to try. Um,
like I said, I hope you all have created a friend. We we're a very special creative creative section that traces the journey of Roxbury. to lead us into this story through the
power of the word. And as we heard earlier from Dark Adams who said Philip Sweetly, as you know, poetry is what is the pulse of our country. So leading us
into a spoken word beautiful piece. Please welcome to the stage free. Yeah, that's one moment. the drama. Darling, may I have someone uh please bring me a mic stand to the stage if you will?
Yes, a mic stand. We took away that accent. I'm sorry. Poetry is drama. So, I hope they're keeping you in suspense. And here it comes. Thank you so much, What is your name? >> Brian. >> Brian. Thank you so much. You're a round
of applause. Wow. Thank you so much. So, now I'm going to reintroduce. Please a warm round of applause for our spoken word polling of this afternoon representing the Roxbury Cold Board from
Aluminous Free. To be seen is sacred. And today I swam extreme into sanctuary. Black enrolled fearless and more so the archive we carve our way of freedom. Every brick we lay in real life memory
into music and eternal presence offering us peace. The breath in our lungs is a reminder that our faithfilled. Our voices be loud and righteous. Building blocks and churches we commune in spaces with dignity and pride. Our existence is
undeniable. Don't call us hero or ruler. We band together unbroken. Unified and will stay alive and sound. Not one body stands alone. We are all in worthy of bronze and where our feet have
landed. Searching for homes we built. One in soil. Our crowns have been casted in pretty stone and perseverance. Big-headed and rooted in resistance. March on Roxbury. Good evening.
>> Good evening. My name is Richard Futrell and I serve as the visitor service manager of the Roxberry Heritage State Park for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is truly truly an honor to stand here and celebrate the history of Roxberry, a
community where I was born and raised. Before we begin this flurry though, I want to also acknowledge the indigenous people who lived on this land long before the arrival of the English through the Massachusetts
and the brother of our nations. So, Roxberry, Roxberry is one of the oldest communities in Boston. Founded in 1630, from the beginning, this geography made it significant. Roxberry stood at
the entrance to Boston, connected by a narrow strip of land known as the Boston Neck. It was the only lane route into the city of Boston. Because of its strategic location, Roxberry quickly became a
place where history moved, where decisions were made, and where the course of a nation would begin to change. When tensions between the American colonies and great Britain erupted into
the war in 1775, Roxberry became the front lines of the American Revolution. General George Washington and the Continental Army established defensive positions here while colonial forces surrounded British troops occupying
Boston. From the hills of Roxbury and the nearby Fort Hill, soldiers prepared for the campaign that would eventually force the British evacuation of Boston in March of 1776.
But the story of revolution in Roxberry is not only about generals in military history. It is also about black patriots who fought for freedom even when freedom was not yet fully promised to them.
Africanameans both free and enslaved served in the Continental Army from communities all across Massachusetts. One of the most notable was Hale Por, a formerly enslaved man with
extraordinary bravery at the Battle of Bunker Hill, led multiple officers to petition the Massachusetts legislature to formally recognize his heroism. Black patriots also served as soldiers,
sailors, laborers, and messengers, helping build the foundation of this new nation. Their courage reminds us that the American Revolution was not only a fight
for independence from Britain. It was part of a much longer struggle for liberty, for dignity, and for the pursuit of happiness. And here here right here in Roberry, the
spirit of movement and resistance did not end with the American Revolution. It continues to shape our community and others for generations and generations to come. Roxberry has always been a
place of movement. Armies move through here. Ideas move through here. And the dream of freedom began here. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Mercy love
and love. Give me Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Fire. Now we We love and love. We are God.
Yes. Yeah. Be the drum that remembers us from the beat of this to the strum of everyone. will say our hearts whole, a continuum, an opportunity to remind us of who we are and why we are here. It is a
calling, better yet a ritual. Project our faces large enough to hold our stories. We've contorted ourselves for too long. The time has been now. We grow passion on these campgrounds like the community hills of hope and love.
There's something about the hand of the mother's touch that teaches us how to feel. The way she is able to see us before we do, a visionary and teacher who turn a park into a playhouse. Elma Lewis was a matriarch, an educator,
transformed a summer night into a theater play. This place be open air stage for black liberation. An intersection where our ancestors and elders cross raising each other's children. Our bloodline is the center of art.
Roxberry 0211919. Okay, so Roxberry has always been ready for the next battle. The battles fight here today are not fought with musketss and fortifications, but with voices, with organizing, with
creativity, and with extraordinary leadership. Throughout the 20th century, and into the presidency, Roger has stood at the center of Boston's struggle for civil rights, for fair housing, for educational equity, and for community
empowerment. residents organized to ensure that the people of Roxberry have a voice in decisions about their neighborhoods and their future. Leaders like Melia Cass, Malcolm X, Elma Lewis,
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jun Russian MLP helped shape movements that challenged inequality and demanded opportunity. The weapons may have changed, but the
spirit has not. Roxberry has always been a place of movement, a movement of justice, a movement of dignity, a movement led by the people of this
community. Melia Agnes Jones Cass, known as the first lady of Roxberry. taught generations that change does not begin in government buildings.
It begins in community. >> It begins when neighbors organize. When people speak truth to power, that spirit is still alive today. Historic institutions like here at the
First Church of Roxberry, one of the oldest congregations in New England, continue to serve as a gathering place where people organize, where people reflect and strengthen community bonds. But Roxy's movement is also expressed
through our culture. This community, this community has given the world powerful voices in music, in dance, in art. Roxberry is a birth praise of legendary groups like New Addition,
New Kids on the Block. From neighborhood festivals to youth dance traditions, the influence of hip-hop culture, artists here transform streets, parks, and stages into places where stories are told and identities
are celebrated. In Roxberry, culture itself becomes a form of resistance, a declaration that this community's history, creativity, and voice will
never be erased. >> Because Rockberry story is the story of us all. And it is not finished. It is still unfolding. Um yeah. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat.
Yeah, Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. What the Cross 02119. >> 0219. >> 02119. Okay, man. Okay.
As we look toward the future, Rockberry stands at the beginning of another chapter in his long story of resilience, a revolution, and a transformation. Just as many of generations once imagined a new nation during the
American Revolution, the people of Roxberry today are imagining something just as powerful, a just, thriving, and inclusive community for all. The battles of the future will focus on
building opportunity, protecting our culture, and investing in young people. Across Roxberry, educators, artists, entrepreneurs, and community leaders are working to ensure that this neighborhood
remains a place where history is honored and where progress benefits the people who have long called it home. Young people, young people growing up here today are the next generation of
leaders, innovators, artists, scholars, and organizers who will carry forward the legacy of those who came before them. And we have already seen what leadership can accomplish right here at the
Rockberry Arrigate State Park. Community leaders including Ben Hayes, the founder of the National Junth Observance Foundation, along with local organizers and the Roxberry Junth Committee raised one of the early Junth flags in Boston,
a symbol creating freedom and African celebrating freedom in African-American history. Their work helped elevate awareness of the holiday nationwide, contributing to the movement that ultimately led Congress and our great Senator Ed Marky to support the
legislation recognizing Junth as a national holiday. That is the story of Roxberry. From the patriots of the American Revolution to the civil rights leaders of the 20th century to the community organizers and
young visionaries of today, Roxberry has always been a place where people rise to meet the moment. This community continues to fight for justice, to nurture creativity, and expand opportunity for all. And just as
those who once stood on these hills, General Washington, Henry Knox, and the patriots who dreamed of freedom believed in the possibility of a new future. The people of Roberry carry that belief forward today.
Because here in Roxberry, the spirit of revolution, resilience, and hope is still alive. And the future is still being written. What we learned from Roxberry is this. History is not something that only lives
in books, museums or boy events. History lives in the people. Yes. >> Okay. Yes. Okay. Yes. A diaspora bridge of watchful eyes and witnesses training for truth to stand in
conjunction. Not to be profound like horns or gospel, not to be denied this camp or dismantling how powerful we are. Stand our unbounded choosing to be seen in this moment.
Illuminated. Unlock the gates. Break through the chains to the us shadows of our past pain. And let us perform, restore, and carry ourselves into the weight of a new day that guides us. Because this isn't
about lightness, but about the way that we show up and see out of our silence. The way that our magic spills from our pores and onto the pavement. The way that we mastered survival by the skin of our teeth. Be the light
and refuses to be held captive and shine so bright that the world has no choice but to witness us with no filter in abundance. And unwind.
Now to the stage that line right And I love the power. Give another round of applause for all of the
afternoon. Thank you so much. 021. Turn over here and hold me. Yes. Wave. Okay. Thank you guys so much. We appreciate your heart and your heart. Thank you so
much for representing Rock Springs. I want to celebrate my favorite. Can we get one massive round of applause for this afternoon? >> Shout out to the visual artist as well. Up here, BK come up here.
You are a different if you're here to the stage. We want to make sure that we care about the respective play. She's an individual artist, too. >> Where's Diane? >> Diane, come on. I just heard your voice.
Oh, you're up there. Wave to all the people. Also to Jack illuminated for lighting this place up. Yes. Yes. >> You all That concludes our afternoon, but I want
to give another round of applause to all of the performers, our historians, and our city leaders in the building. One last time, please. Today was about the noble cannon train, but it was also about the fire that
stays lit in Roxberry. >> Thank you for spending your afternoon with us. Carry this history and this legacy with you. Carry this art and most importantly, carry each other. and uh be well and I hope you all have a
beautiful evening. Thank you so much.