Tag: Cambridge Black History

Black History Month Feature: Roosevelt Weaver

Posted on by Meta Partenheimer

Today we’re highlighting Roosevelt Weaver, an educator, activist, and voice for the people.

Roosevelt R. Weaver was born in Macon, Georgia in 1936. He obtained his degree in sociology after receiving a scholarship from Yankton College in South Dakota. During his time in undergrad, Weaver was a star athlete, earning accolades in track, football, and boxing. Following graduation, Weaver taught in the Atlanta public school system and served in the Peace Corps as well as the US Marines active reserves. While a Peace Corps volunteer from 1962-65, Weaver coached the Senegalese Olympic track team.

The Cambridge Chronicle, 18 May 1967

Weaver became the first Program Director at the Cambridge Community Center in 1965. Weaver was surprised to encounter in Cambridge the same racism he faced in southern states when he was refused multiple apartment rentals based on his ethnic background. Weaver resigned his position at the community center in 1967 to to become the Group Leader for Operation Crossroads Africa Inc.’s work in Cameroon. The project was designed to engage American and African college students through summer work projects. Weaver returned to Cambridge in 1968. He had earned his master’s degree in Urban Education from Simmons College and began pursuing his Doctor of Education degree at Harvard in 1969 while also teaching courses at Emerson College and Simmons.

Roosevelt Weaver photographed by Forman on April 8, 1970. Cambridge Photo Morgue Collection, Cambridge Historical Commission.

In 1970, following unrest and a sit-in at the Cambridge High and Latin School, administrators hired Weaver part time to head up a course titled “Black Experience.” What followed were several months of meetings, student discussions, and seminars focused on addressing racial tensions and demands of Black students who faced racism and objected to the white-centric coursework at CHL and Rindge Tech. That year, Weaver was chosen as an Outstanding Young Man of America and received an Alumnus of the Year award from his alma mater. Weaver served on numerous committees and boards, including the Cambridge Police Relations Council, tackling issues faced by the Black community in Cambridge. In 1971, he became the first black principal of Bernice A. Ray Elementary School in Hanover, NH. Weaver later moved to New Jersey to teach in the East Orange school system.

Wikipedia Highlights Black Cambridge

Posted on by cambridgehistoricalcommission

The Cambridge Black History Project in collaboration with the Cambridge Public Library invites you to come out and try your hand at editing and creating Wikipedia pages related to Cambridge Black History!

When: Wednesday, February 25th from 5:30pm-8:30pm
Where: Central Square Branch of the Cambridge Public Library (45 Pearl Street).

This event is free but registration is required. Please click HERE for more information and to register for the event. Once at the registration page click the blue “Begin Registration” button.

Barbara Ward Armstrong, a Cantabrigian and innovative artist whose life-sized African-inspired multi-textured fabric sculptures, called “soft sculptures,” redefined 20th century artforms.

All levels of experience are welcome! Join in on the fun and excitement of looking up information on Black Cantabrigians and beyond as we move to create Wikipedia pages that will highlight some local individuals. We will be adding to information on existing pages, creating new pages, finding reliable sources for others to use, and copyediting and formatting pages. The Central Square Branch offers resources from its Archives and Special Collections as well as its Black Voices Collections.

We are looking forward to seeing you on Wednesday, February 25 from 5:30pm – 8:30pm. 

Access information:

  • The library’s accessible entrance is available from Martin Luther King, Jr. Plaza
  • Public transit: the library located 1 block from the Central MBTA Red Line station
  • Street parking (metered) is available near the library.
  • Garage parking (paid) is available in the Green Street Garage.

African American Heritage Trail, Cambridge

Posted on by cambridgehistoricalcommission

The African-American community in Cambridge has a long, rich, and fruitful history. The roots of this community, much like the rest of the United States, are in the institution of slavery, which brought Black people from Africa and the Caribbean to New England soon after the Puritans settled. The small Black population of Cambridge became free in 1783, when the Supreme Court of Massachusetts decided to end legal chattel slavery in the state. This measure, combined with the general movement of southern Black people to the North in the 19th century and the attractive integrated school system, brought many Black families to Cambridge, expanding the African-American community. Over the course of the nineteenth and twentieth century, Cambridge saw a great variety of prominent African-American activists, officials, and leaders. Coming from all over America, these figures have contributed to the growth and empowerment of the Black communities in Cambridge, the United States, and even the entire world.

Cover of African American Heritage Trail, Cambridge, Massachusetts (2000)

We at the Cambridge Historical Commission invite you to explore the inspiring and unique stories of twenty of Cambridge’s most important Black leaders through our informational booklet, African American Heritage Trail, Cambridge, Massachusetts (2000), an accompanying text to our African American History Trail.

Selections from African American Heritage Trail, Cambridge, Massachusetts (2000), featuring entries of Pauline Hopkins and Harriet A. Jacobs.

Here, you’ll meet figures like Maria Louise Baldwin, headmaster of the Agassiz Grammar School in Cambridge and the first African American to hold such a position in the North. You’ll also learn about William Wells Brown, an escaped slave who became the first African American novelist, and Alberta V. Scott, the first African American graduate of Radcliffe College. With the aid of this guide, you can hear about and visit the locations where these abolitionists, authors, educators, and office holders lived, worked, and expanded their lives in Cambridge from 1840 to 1940. The guide contains the complete text of each historical marker, a map with key, and a brief history of African Americans in Cambridge.

Select pages from African American Heritage Trail, Cambridge, Massachusetts (2000) showing locations associated with featured historical figures.

To learn more, and obtain a copy of this publication for just $2, click here, email us at histcomm@cambridgema.gov, or visit our office at 831 Mass Ave in Central Square.

Meet Xonnabel and Emory Clark

Posted on by cambridgehistoricalcommission

In 1953, Xonnabel and Emory Clark began their married life with a 1,500-mile journey from New Orleans to Cambridge. Xonnabel, a graduate of Dillard University, had been awarded a scholarship to Harvard’s Graduate School of Education. Emory, who had served in WWII, had a degree in pharmacy from Xavier University.

Xonnabel Green Clark, third from left. Still from “A Special Class Reunion,” Harvard Graduate School of Education, May 23, 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhTD7gtwj3A

In the Boston area, Emory found that drugstore owners were unwilling to hire an African American pharmacist. In Cambridge, he went door to door to every drugstore on Mass Ave in search of work. Many praised his manner and experience but were unwilling to risk hiring a black man for fear of losing customers. Eventually, he was offered a position as a clerk at Cole’s Drug Store in Central Square. Emory was soon promoted to pharmacist. His wife Xonnabel believes the offer of a clerk position was a way for the store owner to gauge the response of customers who were more accustomed to being served by white employees. This decision paid off, as many Black Cantabrigians took notice of Emory’s expertise and began to fill their prescriptions at Cole’s. Emory also started a shaved ice pushcart business, with a goal of raising capital to one day own and operate his own pharmacy. He eventually upgraded the pushcart to an ice cream truck and made daily trips to Columbia Point to serve Boston regulars.

Xonnabel Clark, Ed.M.’54 (far right) with classmates Barbara Cage, Ed.M.’54 and Rosetta Sanders, Ed.M.’55 as they appeared in “A Special Class Reunion,” Harvard Graduate School of Education, May 23, 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhTD7gtwj3A.

After receiving her master’s degree, Xonnabel became a teacher and counselor at the Hecht House in Boston and in the Newton Public Schools. She was also a devoted member of the Grace Vision United Methodist Church on Magazine St. During these years, the Clarks raised a family of five children.

Image from Xonnabel Clark Collection. Cambridge Historical Commission. https://public.archivesspace.dlconsulting.com/repositories/3/resources/125.

In 1969, Emory bought the site of a defunct filling station at 407 Concord Ave. For two years, he worked to appeal zoning restrictions and gain financing and neighborhood support for a community pharmacy. “Emory’s Pharmacy” opened in 1971 – the first African American-owned and operated pharmacy in Cambridge. Emory’s Pharmacy operated until 1990, and today, “Emory J. Clark Square” at the corner of Concord Avenue and Fern Street honors his achievement.

Emory Clark at his pharmacy at 407 Concord Ave. Image from Xonnabel Clark Collection. Cambridge Historical Commission.
https://public.archivesspace.dlconsulting.com/repositories/3/resources/125.

We know Emory Clark’s story through the letters, photos, and documents that Xonnabel collected over the years. As well as being a distinguished educator, she is an historian – of Emory’s story and of the Grace United Methodist Church. In 2017, she embarked on a new project when a friend asked for book suggestions on African American history. In response, Xonnabel created “Roots and Wings: Notes Related to African American History and Culture,” a compilation of excerpts, articles, lyrics, photos, reading recommendations, and personal reflections. It was “a most rewarding extension of an unending learning process,” she wrote.

Today’s post was written by CHC volunteer and former intern, Susan Keane.

Juneteenth in Cambridge

Posted on by cambridgehistoricalcommission

This weekend organizations across Cambridge are hosting celebrations and commemorations for Juneteenth. 2022 marks only the second year that Juneteenth has been recognized as a Federal holiday, but what is Juneteenth and why does it matter? In 1863, Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, an executive order declaring all enslaved people held in confederate states free. However, it wasn’t until June 19th of 1865 that federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas to announce and enforce their release. The day is now celebrated as the end of slavery in the United States, though there is still much left to be done. It’s a day to uplift African American voices, celebrate African American joy, and honor those who were robbed of their freedom and made to endure the inhumanity of American slavery. If you haven’t already made your own celebratory and/or commemorative plans, consider joining any of these many events happening right in our own neighborhood.

6/16 @ 12:15-1:30 pm Come to Joan Lorentz Park, 449 Broadway to catch a reggae performance by the Mystic Jammers

6/18 12-9:00 pm Catch a full day of activities from the Margaret Fuller House at 155 Harvard St. including yoga, a presentation on Joy in a historic Black Church in Cambridgeport by the Black History in Action for Cambridgeport (BHAC), and a Black Business Fair. They’ll be ending the evening with biking and skating at Hoyt Field.

6/18 @ 12-2:00 pm The Central Square Branch of the Cambridge Public Library will be hosting a Juneteenth celebration for all ages. There will be storytelling, music from the Albino Mbie Band, cupcakes, sidewalk chalk, and crafts. Visit the CPL events page for more details.

6/19 @ 3 pm The Cambridge Black History Project will be meeting at the Old Burying Ground at the intersection of Massachusetts Ave & Garden Street to honor and commemorate two African Americans buried there. Guests are welcomed to stand outside the gate to witness the ceremony.

6/19 @ 7:00 pm The Longfellow House and Museum of African American History have partnered to host a poetry reading and film screening of Jubilee Juneteenth and the Thirteenth. Learn more and register here.

6/20 @ 9-12:00 pm The Cambridge Families of Color Coalition and Starlight are hosting a parade at City Hall.

See the city’s Eventbrite page for more details and events!