The Boston Art Academy constructing will now be named for Dr. Elma Lewis, metropolis officers heralded Wednesday, celebrating a trailblazing educator and Boston cultural icon.
“(Dr. Lewis) encouraged and demanded us to be the best we could and pushed us to excellence,” mentioned School Committee Chair Jeri Robinson, a former scholar of the constructing’s namesake. “She encouraged to be curious, disciplined and to go after our dreams. It’s a surreal moment to stand in front of the school, knowing the letters on this building speak about a past that is familiar to me and a future that is so great for our students.”
Robinson attended a celebration of the renaming on the BAA constructing together with the mayor, different metropolis officers and members of the varsity group Wednesday morning. The new upgraded BAA constructing relocated the varsity subsequent to Fenway Park and opened for the 2022-23 college yr.
Elma Lewis was born in Boston in 1921 and died in 2004, spending a lot of her life as an educator and advocate.
Among many different accomplishments, she opened the Elma Lewis School of Fine Arts in Roxbury, the Playhouse within the Park in Franklin Park and National Center of Afro-American Artists, mentioned Barry Gauthier, director of the Museum of the NCAAA. She additionally acquired over 30 honorary doctorates and labored intently with an enormous array artists, together with Harry Belafonte and Duke Ellington.
“She made it possible for schools like BAA to exist,” mentioned BPS Superintendent Mary Skipper. “This building carries more than just a name. It’s a legacy — her legacy of grace, of grit and of joy.”
The BAA constructing is the fourth BPS college constructing named after a Black girl. Wu mentioned it is a step in the direction of extra prominently recognizing the long-undervalued girls of shade who “have given so much of themselves to save our communities.”
“So today’s celebration to rename the building after Dr. Elma Lewis is an important step not only for this building and the young people who will have the opportunities to share their gifts with the world through their education here, but for the entire city and beyond,” Wu mentioned.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”