All of These People Were Someone: The Cedar Grove Memorial Project – SLHC Webinar

The Boston Women’s Heritage Trail (BWHT) leads the Cedar Grove Memorial Project in Dorchester. We honor the lives of 133 women, who were residents of the Home for Aged Colored Women—a historic site on Beacon Hill founded in 1860 in Boston by a group of abolitionists to provide support to elderly Black women in need of housing and financial aid. These women are buried in individually unmarked graves at the Cedar Grove Cemetery and their legacies are unknown to the Greater Boston community. BWHT is committed to uncovering, sharing, and preserving the stories of Boston’s women, amplifying their legacies by marrying public art and historical initiatives.

Rita Steele, whose ancestor Sarah Smith is buried in one of the Cedar Grove Cemetery gravesites, will share her genealogical research journey and instrumental role in the Cedar Grove Memorial Project Steering Committee. Dr. Alexandria Russell, Executive Director of BWHT, will provide an overview of the project and exciting developments expected in 2026.

Founded by the Lloyd Family in 2021, the Slave Legacy History Coalition is a consortium of individuals, organizations, and institutions engaged in the preservation and promotion of the history of enslaved New Englanders and the legacies they left behind in Greater Boston and beyond. ​The Legacy of Slavery affects us all, so the history of slavery belongs to all of us.