Boston Hosts Sixth Annual Senior Black History Celebration at Melnea Cass Complex

Uncategorized 2026-07-22 clip6218 · Meeting of July 22, 2026

Boston Police and the Age Strong Commission hosted the city's sixth annual Senior Black History Celebration at the Melnea Cass Athletic and Recreation Complex in Roxbury. Mayor Martin J. Walsh, Age Strong Commissioner Emily Shea, and Health and Human Services Chief Marty Martinez addressed hundreds of seniors drawn from every Boston neighborhood, with State Representative Chyna Tyler and City Councilor Ricardo Arroyo also in attendance.

Walsh honored four community members who died in the past year: Age Strong staffer Annette Richardson, former City Councilor Chuck Turner, the Reverend Michael Haynes, and community leader Clarence "Jeep" Jones. Walsh announced that Boston's 2020 Black History Month observance would extend to a year-round campaign tied to the National NAACP Convention, scheduled for Boston in July — the first time the convention has come to the city since 1982. NAACP Boston Branch President Tanisha Sullivan, delivering the keynote, called on seniors to join the convention planning process and declared: "Black excellence recognizes that our destinies are inextricably tied and that if instead of allowing one another to stumble we lift one another up — we rise."

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 1,798 words

Source: the Uncategorized 2026-07-22 clip6218 meeting of July 22, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.