Tag Archives: Black History

The Green Book Tour: Some Highlights

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Fern Cunningham’s sculpture Step on Board shows aboltionist Harriet Ross Tubman with a Bible under her arm.

On June 20th, 2026, I joined The Green Book Tour led by Byron Rushing and the Rev. June Cooper.  The Negro Motorist Green Book, published between 1936 and 1966 as a guidebook for African American roadtrippers, became known as simply The Green Book..

On this sunny but windy day we all met outside of the Union United Methodist Church (originally a Congregational Church) on Columbus Avenue in Boston. There were about a dozen of us in addition to the leaders of the tour. Both Byron and June have a depth of knowledge about the South End of Boston and the history of the businesses which were advertised in The Green Book. These businesses, including hotels, were either Black-owned or served Negroes. Charlie’s Sandwich Shoppe on Columbus Ave. is still operating. It was originally owned by a Greek family and was advertised in The Green Book.

The Harriet Tubman House on Holyoke Street offered rooms to Black women who were either in school or working in Boston and would not have been able to rent in the area otherwise. Very near to this location we visited the Harriet Tubman Park with its two sculptures, one of which honors Harriet Tubman herself. The other sculpture sported a traffic cone on its top; evidence of a visit by the Tartan Army, which had visited Boston from Glasgow for the World Cup.

This area attracted many jazz musicians during the height of the Jazz Age. Of the many clubs once open there were two that were Black-owned establishments: Wally’s Café (originally Wally’s Paradise located across the street from its present location) and Estelle’s,  which is now a condominium building at 888 Columbus Ave.. The Hi-Hat at the corner of Mass. Ave. and Columbus Ave., which burned down after the Second World War, was replaced by a settlement house. It is now modern housing (apartments and/or condominiums). The Columbus Avenue African Methodist Episcopal Zion (AMEZ) Church on the corner of Columbus Avenue and Northampton Street was originally a synagogue. Where one would usually see a rose window, it has a Mogen David or Jewish Star.

Our tour ended at Slade’s, where we had lunch and chatted amongst ourselves. It was a beautiful day for a long walk in Boston.

–Mary Beth Clack, Mary Blocher, Cindy Coldren, Pat Krol, Liz Levin

St. Cyprian’s Hosts Junteenth Celebration

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Let us celebrate our collective liberation and hear how the struggle for justice and freedom continues. –from the Introduction to the service bulletin, St. Cyprian’s Church, June 19, 2026

The Juneteenth liturgy this year drew upon a variety of sources: the Book of Prayer of the Anglican Church of Kenya, the American Book of Common Prayer, and Prayers of the People by Bishop Carol J. Gallagher (2023),

The Rev. Canon Dr. Canon Jean-Baptiste Ntagengwa, the Rev. Kevin Vetiac, and Rev. James Hairston, designed the service. Lift Every Voice and Sing provided most of the hymns. The singing was alternately rousing, joyous, reflective, and heart-felt, as in the rendition of “Take My Hand, Precious Lord” (sung by Rev. Vetiac).

A stirring sermon was given by The Rev. Canon Jordan F. Casson, a Philadelphia colleague and friend of Canon Jean Baptiste. Canon Casson’s years of advocacy and support for social justice were reflected in his choice of stories, anecdotes, and experiences in that journey. In his preaching, he blended emotional intensity, humor, and meditation. Emmanuelites who attended found inspiration in his words and a mindfulness that the struggle for justice continues.

St. Cyprian’s welcoming parishioners, who had laid out the altar’s kente cloths,  provided lunch and conversation. Many parishes were represented, which made for a lively time, good cheer, and thoughtful conversations.  All in all, it was a blessed Juneteenth.

–Compiled from the comments of attendees Mary Beth Clack, Joel Anderle, Bill Comer, Liz Levin, Mike Scanlon, and the Rev. Pamela Werntz.

St. Cyprian’s Church to Host Juneteenth Celebration

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The Diocese of Massachusetts and the Bishop John M. Burgess Massachusetts Chapter of the Union of Black Episcopalians are coordinating this year’s Juneteenth Celebration on June 19, 2026. St. Cyprian’s Church, 1073 Tremont Street, will be the site of the 10am service and gathering afterward. All are invited to St. Cyprian’s to share the experience and spirit of Juneteenth.

Preaching will be the Rev. Canon Jordan F. Casson of St Michael’s Church, (Anglican/Episcopal), Yeadon, PA. He was commissioned Canon for Peace and Reconciliation for the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania in 2020. He chairs that diocese’s Absalom Jones Committee and leads its Loving Presence initiative.

Canon Casson’s years of advocacy and support for social justice led to his induction into the Martin Luther King Jr. Board of Preachers and Scholars in 2014. Established in 1985, the Board honors global religious and ethical leaders who exemplify a commitment to nonviolence, social justice, and civil rights, and who are dedicated to advancing peace, human rights, and moral social responsibility.

We recommend Annette Gordon-Reed’s Juneteenth (New York Liveright, 2021), a succinct and thoughtful blend of personal history and historical scholarship on the meaning of the commemoration to her family and to our country.  In this video, she describes reactions to official document, General Orders, No. 3, which announced the declaration of freedom for enslaved persons in Texas. Jubilation was met with retaliation for that jubilation, reflecting both the reactions to the ending of legal enslavement, and the beginning of a renewed advocacy and struggle for civil rights in this country.

–Mary Beth Clack, Mary Blocher, Cindy Coldren, Pat Krol, Liz Levin

 

Juneteenth 2026

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The National Museum of African American History will honor Opal Lee, the “grandmother of Juneteenth” in this year’s events.

Events for Juneteenth in Boston will take place from June 18-20, 2026. The flag raising ceremony on June 18th will commemorate “June 19, 1865, the day when enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, were finally informed of their freedom more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued.” The city’s Juneteenth is a “celebration of freedom, remembrance, and the ongoing pursuit of equity and justice.” Other city events are described here.

Both locations of the Museum of African American History, Boston and Nantucket, will mark the holiday with a summer season of freedom as described here.  The Museum of Fine Arts offers a substantial array of programs as does the Institute for Contemporary Art: We Create the World.

This column provided a reflection by Alden Fossett in 2024.  Alden will be ordained to the diaconate in our diocese this week.

–Mary Beth Clack, Mary Blocher, Cindy Coldren, Pat Krol, Liz Levin

Who is America at 250?

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On view at the Boston Athenaeum until May 16, 2026, is the traveling exhibition,
“Who Is America at 250? Artists’ Books on the State of Democracy”.

Organized by the San Francisco Center for the Book and presenting works related to immigration, social injustice, racial inequity, and wage inequality, the exhibit prompts questions about the challenges and prospects of democracy. Its curators see the artists’ book as a meaningful conduit for open contemplation of democracy. Continue reading →

The Bay State Banner’s Black History Month Programs

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In its 60th Anniversary Forum Series The Bay State Banner presented on February 12 “The State of Black America.” Two open forums complemented the newspaper’s special essay section to commemorate Boston and black history. WGBH sponsored mid-day talks at the Boston Public Library moderated by the Banner’s editor Ron Mitchell. Panelists included Dr. Noelle Trent, executive director of the Museum of African American History of Boston & Nantucket, who spoke about the effort to restore last year’s funding cuts from the  Institute of Library and Museum Services. Because black museums are grassroots efforts, the funding has been crucial to the health of the organization.  With the community activated an appeal was filed, which resulted in an injunction and restoration of funding. She also elaborated on how other American black museums have contributed to laying the foundation for African American museum scholarship. Continue reading →

“What is your hand in this?”

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Commemorative concerts for America’s 250th anniversary will be dotting the musical landscape in 2026. An inventive program that may prove to be one of the most challenging for audiences has been launched by Davóne Tines and Ruckus, “a shapeshifting, collaborative, baroque ensemble with a visceral and playful approach to early music.” Sanders Theater hosted them on January 31, 2026, as part of their ten-cities tour.

Created by bass-baritone Davóne Tines, bassist Douglas Adam August Balliett, and Clay Zeller-Townson, founder of Ruckus, the program called “What is your hand in this?” recasts “Colonial and Revolutionary-era hymns, ballads, and Baroque compositions, on a musical journey that weaves through the pre-Civil War period, the Civil Rights era, and into the present day.” (Everyone 250 Continue reading →

Honoring Absalom Jones

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Known as the “Black Bishop of the Episcopal Church,” Absalom Jones’s feast day is February 13. Following tradition, numerous Episcopal churches and dioceses are holding commemorative services. The Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston announced that our diocese’s celebration would be held at 4pm on February 14, 2026, with the Rt. Rev. Julia E. Whitworth presiding and the Rev. Canon Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas preaching. Continue reading →

The Fierce Urgency of Now

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On Monday, January 19th, 2026, the 56th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Breakfast will be held in Boston.

The MLK Breakfast Memorial Committee is comprised of representatives from St. Cyprian’s Episcopal Church and Union United Methodist Church. The event is the longest-running celebration of its kind in the U.S.; scholarships are provided each year to students from nine Boston public high schools.

Continue reading →

Virginia Theological Institute’s Reparations

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Our Racial Justice Working Group follows the news of ongoing reparations processes as they unfold in institutions of The Episcopal Church. One of TEC’s oldest seminaries, the Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS), recently announced the next phase of its historical research and monetary reparations: “VTS breaks ground on reparations memorial honoring at least 557 African American laborers.” —Episcopal News Service, September 26, 2025 Continue reading →