Michael E. Haynes (May 9, 1927 – September 12, 2019) was an American minister and politician in MA. He was pastor at Twelfth Baptist Church in Roxbury from 1964 to 2004. His brother, C. Vincent Haynes, was a founding member of Madison Park Development Corporation in 1966 and continued to serve on the Board of Directors through the 1990s. MPDC’s Haynes House is named after Vincent Haynes. A few years ago, to honor the Haynes family’s legacy, MPDC established The Haynes Family Scholarship Program for those seeking college or vocational training.

Melnea Agnes Cass (June 16, 1896 – December 16, 1978) was an American community and civil rights activist. She was deeply involved in many community projects and volunteer groups in the South End and Roxbury neighborhoods and helped found the Boston local of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. She was active in the fight to desegregate Boston public schools, as a board member and as president of the Boston chapter of the NAACP. She was involved in women’s suffrage activities for the rest of her life. As a young woman, she attended William Monroe Trotter’s lectures and protest meetings. She received honorary doctorates from Northeastern University (June 15, 1969), Simmons College (May 15, 1971), and Boston College (1975). She is commemorated on the Boston Women’s Heritage Trail.

Charles Turner (June 10, 1940 – December 25, 2019) served ten years (2000-2010) as District 7 City Councilor representing Roxbury, first worked as an organizer for South End Neighborhood Action Program (SNAP), and was in Lower Roxbury in 1966 when Roxbury residents burned trash in Madison Park to protest the city’s disregard for the neighborhood. Thanks to Chuck and other community activists, this event elicited a massive gathering of local residents, signaling that Lower Roxbury bore significant grassroots power and scaring the city into cleaning up the park! Also, in the 1960s and early 1970s, Chuck helped MPDC fight urban renewal plans, gaining Boston Redevelopment Authority approvals to build housing at Madison Park Village. Chuck worked alongside MPDC staff since 2015. Chuck Turner was not afraid; he led an exceptional life working for equity, empowerment, and social justice.

Officer Kenneth H. Grubbs is a 35 year veteran of the Boston Police Department. Formerly assigned to the Boston Police Area B-2 Community Service Office, he is now assigned to the Bureau of Community Engagement as the Boston Police Housing Liaison engaging and collaborating with Tenant Task Forces and Associations throughout the City of Boston. After three years assigned to A-1, that eventual created District A-7 in East Boston, Officer Grubbs acknowledged the idea of Community Policing that was implemented by the police department. In addition to answering 9-1-1 calls, the idea of engaging with people in East Boston about their quality of life issues, dialogues with youth, and collaborations with courts and community agencies was a perfect policing strategy for him. As part of the Community Policing Initiative Officer Grubbs requested and was reassigned as a Youth Service Officer in which he provided workshops and programs on Gang and Drug Abuse Awareness and Prevention to thousands of youth throughout the city in a 20 year period of his career. Some of those additional activities included Fishing Trips, PAL (Police Activities League) basketball leagues, Amusement Parks, Cooking Classes, A Day at the Movies, Bowling, Junior Police Academy (youth 7-12 yrs old) week-long summer program, employment opportunities for youth to become interns and peer leaders working for the Boston Police Department and a special spotlight story with NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt on how the use of a marked Boston Police Ice Cream Truck can help on improving community relations. Today, Officer Grubbs uses his experience and his passion to continue helping to make Boston the Best City in The Country for the Youth and for all who reside and visits this City.

Pauline Sheridan is Roxbury history, living on Shawmut Avenue. She came into this world on June 20, 1932. She grew up on Holland Street in a triple-decker with a Native American family and an Irish family. Pauline recalls “I grew up with all different nationalities and I learned so much. We’re all God’s children, that’s how I grew up.” Ms. Sheridan attended Boston Public Schools’ Roxbury Memorial High School, Henry Lee Higginson, and the Lewis School. Pauline’s first job was with Melnea Cass as an outreach worker in the Lower Roxbury neighborhood. She was hired to do outreach in Lenox, Camden, and Orchard Park. Sent from the Urban League as a volunteer in the court system, Pauline was then hired as a probation officer in the Roxbury area. She also worked with Mayor Menino to support seniors, at the Smith House Social Services for 15 years, and as a youth worker in the community. Although she retired at 65, she has been doing more work since! Over 15 years ago, Pauline began a walking group that started with one and over time grew. This group of senior walkers deemed themselves the “Jolly Walkers”. While many of the original walkers are no longer here physically, Pauline is still leading the Jolly Walkers with those in the community who are interested and able. She also leads a senior fitness class weekly and has been a Peer Health Leader for over 10 years!

The musical talent and jazz acumen of vocalist and music director Fulani Haynes has electrified audiences in clubs, cabarets, theaters, and other performance venues in the Boston area for more than four decades. Her depth of musical and theatrical experience has given Fulani a rich foundation to draw upon in performances and collaborations with noted recording artists like Frank Wilkins, Patricia Adams, Hakim Law, and Mike Shea, and in performances for regular folks and nonprofit organizations in her own community. Fulani’s creative drive inspired her own production company, And the Beat Goes On. She performs solo and with Sisters In Harmony, a three-woman historical jazz group who sing and transform themselves into the personas of female jazz artists of the ’20s, ’30s, and ’40s. Fulani also sings regionally with Four, a trio of well-known jazz musicians. Fulani teaches the heritage of jazz in performances in Boston and around the country, where she sometimes leads the audience in impromptu scat sessions. A lifelong resident of Boston, Fulani developed a program for children called “Jazz-A-Ma-Toot-Toot for the Boston Public Schools and various community organizations. This program teaches young people about the rich musical contributions that African American women have made world-wide, and the dues they paid as they paved the way for entertainers today. Fulani has also enjoyed a stellar acting career through her work in Black Nativity, Roxbury Outreach Shakespeare Experience, Black Folks Theater, Middle Passage, The Strand, and Erlick Theaters, The Wheelock Family Theater, several one-woman shows, and in television commercials.

Jumaane Kendrick, a Roxbury native, is the Director of Programs and Partnerships of MissionSAFE – a community diversion program created to divert youth from the school to prison pipeline and the Founder of Beyond The Block Youth Solutions Inc. a nonprofit youth entrepreneurship and mentorship organization that engages young people to be both accountable for their actions and capable of finding their abilities to make change and find success in their lives. He has earned a Masters Degree in Business Administration at Lasell College in Newton, MA, and an undergrad degree in Business Management at Bays State College of Boston. In addition, Jumaane was a gang interrupter with Ten Point Coalition mediating battles between rival gangs, and a Coordinator at The Violence Intervention Advocacy Program who provides support and resources to all gunshot and stab wound victims who enter Boston Medical Center’s Emergency room providing trauma response support and resources to help survivors recover emotionally, mentally, and physically to live healthy lives. Jumaane is described as an “exemplar of forgiveness” and is the definition of resiliency and overcoming adversity from being a high school dropout, ex-offender, ex-gang leader, and a survivor of street violence. Today Jumaane has successfully transitioned from the “streets to the boardroom” and decided that his life wasn’t going to end on the sidewalk or in a life prison sentence. Jumaane committed to preserving the lives of his friends and himself, but with a lack of opportunity in his neighborhood, while childhood friends dying daily he set out to put in end to preventing himself and others from losing any more friends to street violence Jumaane started Lasell Denim & Co. a clothing and production company in remembrance of his friend Terrance Lasell Jacobs who was killed in 2009. Jumaane’s focuses were on occupying his friend’s time and provide a safe place to be to prevent further retaliation or incarceration. Through his efforts, several of his friends created their own companies, went off to college, found career paths, or have left the streets in the past. As a result, of his exceptional work around community violence, mentoring, and gang mediation he was recognized and honored in 2012 by The Philanthropic Initiative and awarded the Boston Neighborhood Fellows Unsung Hero Award for being a change agent.

Gloria West is a Community & Family Advocate; Village In Progress (VIP) Coordinator, for Project Right is a grassroots organization in the heart of Grove Hall. In 2019, she graduated from the Urban College of Boston with a Certificate in Leadership & Advocacy for Child-Centered Communities. In 2001 She graduated from Eastern Nazarene College with a Bachelors in Business. Her passion for educational advocacy and community safety was ignited since she is the mother of eight children. Her focus has been to advocate for all children in her community. She thrives off serving others. Her service is not limited to shopping for families, delivering food on a weekly basis. She has supported families with all quality of life issues. She believes that what affects one in our community affects us all. Through her work, as V.I.P. Coordinator, Gloria has really been able to make meaningful connections with the community where she lives and works. Relationship building is key to doing work. She leads regular community meetings, parent and youth workshops. The topics range from community safety, education, how to advocate and support your child(ren). She leads the Abundant Life Family Workshops for parents. She is certified in Psychological First Aid Trauma and Support, Substance Abuse Recovery and Domestic Violence Awareness by breaking the Cycle. A has a certificate from the Interaction Institute for Social Change and Facilitative Leadership, and in 2019 She graduated from Urban College of Boston with a certificate in Community Advocacy along with a host of other Professional Development awards/certificates. She was recognized with a Leadership Award from Lila G. Frederick Pilot Middle School, Haynes EEC, and BPS Parent University Lead.