As Boston approaches the 250th anniversary of American independence, Everyone250 is reimagining how the city marks its history—by honoring the full diversity of communities that have shaped Boston and the nation.
Through its Monuments and Markers initiative, Everyone250 is establishing permanent public markers at historically significant sites across the city. These markers recognize places where cultural memory, community leadership, resistance, and collective resilience have lived—not just moments or individuals, but the spaces themselves.
In the South End, that work came into focus on Sunday, February 1, 2026, with the unveiling of a new Everyone250 marker at Union Church, an institution that has anchored Black religious, civic, and social life in Boston for more than two centuries.
The unveiling followed the church's 11:15 a.m. worship service and coincided with a community meal, reflecting Union Church's longstanding role as both a spiritual home and a gathering place. The marker honors the church's enduring legacy of faith, justice, and community leadership, situating its history within the broader story of American independence.
According to Everyone250, Monuments and Markers are not simply commemorative objects. They are acts of recognition and invitations to learn, reflect, and reckon with history honestly. Each marker is developed through a collaborative, community-driven process that centers equity, belonging, and historical truth.
In neighborhoods like the South End—where Black history has been foundational yet too often threatened by erasure or displacement—these markers affirm that place matters. They make visible the institutions and locations that have sustained community across generations.
As Boston prepares for its 250th anniversary, Everyone250's work reframes commemoration itself: not as celebration without context, but as an opportunity to tell a fuller story about who we are, who has endured, and who belongs.
Learn more about the Monuments and Markers program: https://everyone250.org/monuments-markers/