We Were Here Too by Roberto Mighty, in partnership with the Freedom Trail® Foundation and Old North Illuminated, revives the memory of Boston’s colonial African-Americans, many of whom lived and worked in what is today’s North End. The project can be experienced worldwide via an online multimedia website, and locally via augmented reality in Copp’s Hill Burying Ground

The project launches Wednesday May 21, 2025 at 1:00pm at Copps Hill Burying Ground with a dedication and a guided historical tour by the artist. An artist talk will be held on Wednesday May 28, 2025 at 5:30pm at the historic Old North Church, hosted by Old North Illuminated. Events are free, but accommodations are limited, so please sign up as soon as possible with the links above. Light refreshments will be provided. This project is funded by the City of Boston Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture’s Un-Monument Initiative and The Mellon Foundation. 

This innovative project honors the lives of colonial-era African Americans in Boston’s North End—many of whom were interred, or are believed to have been buried, at Copp’s Hill Burying Ground, established in 1659 and recognized as Boston’s largest colonial cemetery.

This project honors historical figures, including Phillis Wheatley Peters, in 1773 the first African-American woman to publish a book of poetry; Prince Hall, an abolitionist who fought in the Revolutionary War and founded Prince Hall Masonry; and Onesimus, an African who was instrumental in bringing knowledge of smallpox inoculation to America.

Blending history with technology, We Were Here Too invites the public to engage with a layered storytelling experience. The project features augmented reality, video interviews with historians and community voices, digital illustrations, archival images, voice performances, and historical content drawn from museum collections and archives around the world.

Roberto says, “I hope folks will experience this exhibit and learn that African Americans – free and enslaved – were living and working in Boston at the same time as Paul Revere, Abigail Adams and John Hancock. We were here, too.”

Funded by the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture through a grant from the Mellon Foundation, “We Were Here Too” is presented in partnership with the Boston Parks and Recreation Department, The Historic Burying Grounds Initiative, the Freedom Trail® Foundation and Old North Illuminated.

Join artist Ying Ye in this final activation, a communal gathering where participants will collectively transform soybeans into tofu through their labor symbolizing, acts of cultural healing.

Sprouts of Resilience: A Journey from Seed to Tofu, brings Chinese traditional aesthetics of gardening, street food tricycles, and collective food-making gatherings to activate Chinatown’s public spaces and foster cultural resilience and belonging.

Programmed in conjunction with the exhibit Celebrations of Perseverance: Public Art in Chinatown, 2024-2025 on view March 20 - June 20, 2025.

Mayor Wu’s Neighborhood Coffee Hours offer a unique opportunity to speak directly with the Mayor and staff from City departments about City services and resident concerns. Through personal conversations, and a suggestion box at each site, Mayor Wu looks forward to hearing how the City of Boston can improve parks, public areas, and City services.

A neighborhood staple known for bringing the community together over a cup of coffee, Dunkin’ is back to fuel the conversation with iced coffee and donuts. Dunkin’ will also provide lawn game activities for attendees, gift card giveaways, and the opportunity for residents to win a raffle prize. Free flowering plants will be provided by the Boston Parks and Recreation Department, while supplies last. Fresh fruit will be provided by Star Market. 

Coffee hours are held from 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m., unless otherwise noted due to inclement weather.

Rain Location

BCYF Marshall Community Center

35 Westville Street

Boston, MA 02124

Do you have questions? 

Connect with your Mid-Dorchester Neighborhood Liaison Anthony Nguyen at anthony.nguyen@boston.gov

Mayor Wu’s Neighborhood Coffee Hours offer a unique opportunity to speak directly with the Mayor and staff from City departments about City services and resident concerns. Through personal conversations, and a suggestion box at each site, Mayor Wu looks forward to hearing how the City of Boston can improve parks, public areas, and City services.

A neighborhood staple known for bringing the community together over a cup of coffee, Dunkin’ is back to fuel the conversation with iced coffee and donuts. Dunkin’ will also provide lawn game activities for attendees, gift card giveaways, and the opportunity for residents to win a raffle prize. Free flowering plants will be provided by the Boston Parks and Recreation Department, while supplies last. Fresh fruit will be provided by Star Market. 

Coffee hours are held from 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m., unless otherwise noted due to inclement weather.

Rain Location

Curley Community Center 

1663 Columbia Road

 Boston, MA 02127

Do you have questions? 

Connect with your South Boston Neighborhood Liaison Lydia Polaski at lydia.polaski@boston.gov 

Mayor Wu’s Neighborhood Coffee Hours offer a unique opportunity to speak directly with the Mayor and staff from City departments about City services and resident concerns. Through personal conversations, and a suggestion box at each site, Mayor Wu looks forward to hearing how the City of Boston can improve parks, public areas, and City services.

A neighborhood staple known for bringing the community together over a cup of coffee, Dunkin’ is back to fuel the conversation with iced coffee and donuts. Dunkin’ will also provide lawn game activities for attendees, gift card giveaways, and the opportunity for residents to win a raffle prize. Free flowering plants will be provided by the Boston Parks and Recreation Department, while supplies last. Fresh fruit will be provided by Star Market. 

Coffee hours are held from 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m., unless otherwise noted due to inclement weather.

Rain Location

 BCYF Hyde Park Municipal Building

1179 River Street

Boston MA 02136

Do you have questions? 

Connect with your Neighborhood Deputy Director Cecily Graham cecily.graham2@boston.gov

Mayor Wu’s Neighborhood Coffee Hours offer a unique opportunity to speak directly with the Mayor and staff from City departments about City services and resident concerns. Through personal conversations, and a suggestion box at each site, Mayor Wu looks forward to hearing how the City of Boston can improve parks, public areas, and City services.

A neighborhood staple known for bringing the community together over a cup of coffee, Dunkin’ is back to fuel the conversation with iced coffee and donuts. Dunkin’ will also provide lawn game activities for attendees, gift card giveaways, and the opportunity for residents to win a raffle prize. Free flowering plants will be provided by the Boston Parks and Recreation Department, while supplies last. Fresh fruit will be provided by Star Market. 

Coffee hours are held from 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m., unless otherwise noted due to inclement weather.

Rain Location

Fenway Community Center

1282 Boylston Street #123

Boston, MA 02215

Do you have questions? 

Connect with your Fenway/Kenmore Neighborhood Liaison Maccon Bonner at maccon.bonner@boston.gov

Mayor Wu’s Neighborhood Coffee Hours offer a unique opportunity to speak directly with the Mayor and staff from City departments about City services and resident concerns. Through personal conversations, and a suggestion box at each site, Mayor Wu looks forward to hearing how the City of Boston can improve parks, public areas, and City services.

A neighborhood staple known for bringing the community together over a cup of coffee, Dunkin’ is back to fuel the conversation with iced coffee and donuts. Dunkin’ will also provide lawn game activities for attendees, gift card giveaways, and the opportunity for residents to win a raffle prize. Free flowering plants will be provided by the Boston Parks and Recreation Department, while supplies last. Fresh fruit will be provided by Star Market. 

Coffee hours are held from 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m., unless otherwise noted due to inclement weather.

Rain Location

BCYF Martin Pino Community Center

86 Boardman Street

Boston, MA 02128

Do you have questions? 

Connect with your East Boston Neighborhood Liaison Roberto Gomez at roberto.gomez@boston.gov

Mayor Wu’s Neighborhood Coffee Hours offer a unique opportunity to speak directly with the Mayor and staff from City departments about City services and resident concerns. Through personal conversations, and a suggestion box at each site, Mayor Wu looks forward to hearing how the City of Boston can improve parks, public areas, and City services.

A neighborhood staple known for bringing the community together over a cup of coffee, Dunkin’ is back to fuel the conversation with iced coffee and donuts. Dunkin’ will also provide lawn game activities for attendees, gift card giveaways, and the opportunity for residents to win a raffle prize. Free flowering plants will be provided by the Boston Parks and Recreation Department, while supplies last. Fresh fruit will be provided by Star Market. 

Coffee hours are held from 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m., unless otherwise noted due to inclement weather.

Rain Location

BCYF Roslindale Community Center

6 Cummins Hwy

Boston, MA 02131

Do you have questions? 

Connect with your Roslindale Neighborhood Liaison Joshua McCorkle at joshua.mccorkle@boston.gov

Mayor Wu’s Neighborhood Coffee Hours offer a unique opportunity to speak directly with the Mayor and staff from City departments about City services and resident concerns. Through personal conversations, and a suggestion box at each site, Mayor Wu looks forward to hearing how the City of Boston can improve parks, public areas, and City services.

A neighborhood staple known for bringing the community together over a cup of coffee, Dunkin’ is back to fuel the conversation with iced coffee and donuts. Dunkin’ will also provide lawn game activities for attendees, gift card giveaways, and the opportunity for residents to win a raffle prize. Free flowering plants will be provided by the Boston Parks and Recreation Department, while supplies last. Fresh fruit will be provided by Star Market. 

Coffee hours are held from 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m., unless otherwise noted due to inclement weather.

Rain Location

BCYF Vine Street Community Center

339 Dudley Street  

Roxbury, MA 02119

Do you have questions? 

Connect with your Roxbury Neighborhood Liaison Asha Janay at asha.janay@boston.gov