Unknown outside their community, they are seen as heroes within it.
These 25 Dorchester neighbors, teachers, and friends have been recognized for quietly extending themselves to the community in a meaningful way. The honorees came from nominations filled out by young people throughout Dorchester. The final 25 were separated into the categories of caregivers, inspirations, community support, and true friends. Each received a rose and a certificate acknowledging their contributions to the Dorchester community.
"Lavert Bradshaw helped me to stay awake when I got shot so I wouldn't die," high school student Fatima Francisco wrote on her nomination form for her friend. "When everyone else was afraid to touch me, he wasn't. Because of him I am alive."
"There's a lot of power in the community that people don't recognize," said Deborah Kronenberg, program coordinator for the Center for Teen Empowerment's site in Dorchester. "Our youth decided they really wanted to focus on inspiring others to create change, first individual change and then city change."
About 150 people gathered early this month to honor the recipients during an evening entitled "A Rose From the Concrete." It was put together by 14 youth organizers and a dozen volunteers from the teen center, which helps youths express themselves through positive social change. Through poetry performances, raps, skits, and dances, middle and high school students acknowledged the people they see as "community heroes."
The Center for Teen Empowerment's three Boston sites will join forces in an original show, "Street Life: Deeper Than the Eyes Can See," at Roxbury Community College on Friday at 6:30 p.m. It will include an open session for anyone in attendance to tell a story about a community hero.
KHRISTOPHER FLACK
