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inside this week:
‘VAN GOGH & NATURE’: 45 WORKS ON DISPLAY AT THE CLARK ART INSTITUTE THROUGH SEPT. 13 pg 15
Dorchester resident opens shop, looks to expand pg 10
Boston gearing up for Caribbean Carnival pg 2
plus Q&A: Erica Ash stars in ‘Survivor’s Remorse’ and ‘Real Husbands of Hollywood’ pg 15 Thursday, August 27, 2015 • FREE • GREATER BOSTON’S URBAN NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1965 • CELEBRATING 50 YEARS
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T beating caught on video
Roxbury woman suing T for civil rights violations BANNER PHOTO
State Rep. Byron Rushing addresses a gathering during the “Day of Remembrance of the Middle Passage and its Abolition” at Faneuil Hall. The event was sponsored by the Museum of African American History and the National Parks Service.
Bostonians mark city’s history with slavery Faneuil Hall commemoration honors those who lived and died in human bondage By JULE PATTISON-GORDON
To many, Boston is known as the Cradle of Liberty, a city where the Boston Massacre and other events provided the opening salvos in the Revolutionary War. But for blacks living here between the 1630s and 1783 — the year slavery was abolished in Massachusetts — the history is more complicated. On Sunday, the National Parks Service and the Museum of
African American History sponsored “The Day of Remembrance of the Middle Passage and its Abolition” which brought to light this little-spoken of history, paid respect those subjected to slavery and provided a more candid view of the past. The ceremony acknowledged the roles Boston played in both furthering slavery and abolition, commemorated the efforts of enslaved and free blacks to achieve abolition and honored the suffering and lives of enslaved Africans as well as
those who died on the “Middle Passage”, the harrowing journey across the Atlantic from Africa The ceremony featured speeches from community leaders and representatives of diverse faith traditions, including Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, Quaker, and Catholicism. Interspersed were musical performances and rituals. “With this ceremony we open a door and invite African ancestors to join us,” said Ann Chinn,
See REMEMBRANCE, page 21
By YAWU MILLER
News and videos of police killings of unarmed blacks across the country have enraged African Americans and fed a growing anti-police abuse movement over the last year. But many elected officials and top cops in Boston continue to stress that Boston is different. Their claim of the city’s exceptionalism was recently challenged. Last week, the ACLU of Massachusetts announced a lawsuit against the MBTA Police Department for police brutality and posted its webpage video recordings of the 2014 incident. Boston residents gained access to disturbing footage of the type of abuse many in the black community have complained about for decades. The video came not from bodyworn or dashboard-mounted cameras, but from an array of video recorders mounted in the Dudley Station bus terminal. The video’s release underscored how effective recorded evidence can be at changing the narrative in police abuse cases. In March of last year, following
her arrest by MBTA Police officers Jennifer Garvey and Alfred Trinh, Mary Holmes was facing charges of assault and battery on a public employee, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. Like many in the black community who have experienced police abuse, Holmes might well have faced the daunting choice of either pleading to reduced charges or rolling the dice with the often majority-white Suffolk County juries that all-too-often side with the police. “She could be in jail or on probation if it weren’t for the video,” said ACLU Massachusetts Attorney Carlton Williams, who defended Holmes in court. Instead, the taped images Williams turned up showed clearly that Holmes did nothing to warrant an attack. “What amazes me is that Ms. Holmes has her hands in her pockets,” says Howard Friedman, who is representing Holmes, along with the ACLU, in a civil case against the MBTA. “It’s almost what you’d be trained to do if you don’t want to get charged with assaulting an officer.”
See HOLMES, page 7
Preservation v. profits in Roxbury At risk: 1850s Greek revival home By JULE PATTISON-GORDON
Residents are rallying to oppose a developer’s plans for the fate of a historic house in Highland Park. Developers intend to demolish the Greek Revival style dwelling at 20 Hawthorne Street and replace it with condominiums. In response, the community petitioned to preserve it. Real estate prices have been
soaring in the neighborhood: new condos are selling for more than $600,000. The prices have attracted developers, such as CAD Builders LLC, who constructed an 8-unit condominium on the adjacent 22 Hawthorne Street and now seeks to build similar housing at 20. Residents argue that destroying the house is unnecessary.
See HAWTHORNE ST., page 6
BY THE NUMBERS Residents acknowledge that preserving the house would reduce the developer’s profits, but argue that this should not be where priorities are placed.
$495,000
The amount for which CAD Builders LLC purchased the property at 20 Hawthorne Street.
$589,900
The amount for which a single apartment unit at neighboring 22 Hawthorne was sold.
IMAGE COURTESY MBTA VIDEO FEED
In this video still, Mary Holmes can be seen at center right in this frame while MBTA officer Jennifer Garvey swings a metal baton at her (to her left) and officer Alfred Trinh (right) holds her left arm.