Louis D. Brown Peace Institute

Founded in 1994   This building was the first home of the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, a national center dedicated to healing, teaching, and learning for families and communities impacted by murder, trauma, grief, and loss. The Peace Institute was co-founded by Chaplain Clementina Chéry, whose fifteen-year-old son, Louis D. Brown, was caught in fatal gunfire near their home in Dorchester in 1993. In honor of Louis’ memory and commitment to making his community a more peaceful and just place, the Peace Institute developed innovative ways of helping people and communities heal from violence and loss. Through teaching The Peace Curriculum in Boston Public Schools, providing resources and support programs for communities impacted by violence, political advocacy, and hosting an annual Mother’s Day Walk for Peace, the Peace Institute helped drive Boston’s historic decline in violent crime after the 1990s.