Boston Scenes

Dorchester activist, Isaura Mendes, stands outside St Patrick’s church in Roxbury, where she places banners dedicated to peace and forgiveness each Sunday. She has been taking a message of forgiveness to incarcerated men. “I want to share the freedom that comes from forgiveness.” (Lolita Parker Jr. photo)

As part of last week’s Boston Globe Travel Show, the Aruba Tourism Authority showcased their island culture with cousins Engianira and Esther. (George Weinstein photo)

(From left to right):  Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino; Dr. Edward Benz, President and CEO, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; Frederica Williams, President & CEO of Whittier Street Health Center; Dr. Joseph Aoun, President, Northeastern University; Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, and Dr. Mary Wakefield, Administrator, Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, celebrated the grand opening of Whittier Street Health Center’s new, state-of-the-art facility at 1290 Tremont St. on Monday, February 6, 2012, in Roxbury, Mass. (Chris Aduama/Whittier Street Health Center photo) 

Whittier Street Health Center’s new, state-of-the-art facility at 1290 Tremont St. (Chris Aduama/Whittier Street Health Center photo)

On Saturday, Feb. 25, 2-5 p.m. Mwalim (Morgan James Peters) will read from and sign copies of his book, “A Mixed Medicine Bag” (Talking Drum Press), a collection of original Black Wampanoag folklore from Mwalim’s award-winning storytelling performances. The event takes place at Frugal Bookstore, 310 Martin Luther King Blvd. in the Roxbury Mall. Mwalim is an associate professor of English and the director of African and African American Studies at UMass Dartmouth. His play “Wetu in the City” will be presented at Hibernian Hall in November by New African Company, ACT Roxbury, and the Black Indian Inn. (Photo courtesy of Mwalim)

Third generation Roxbury activist Marie Firmin is delighted to see a ship manifest listing her father, the late Joseph Firmin, 1911-1999, on the USS Prussia. With assistance from New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) library director Marie Daly (in glasses) Firmin navigated the NEHGS databases to discover the rich legacy of her family’s history. (Photo by Lolita Parker Jr.)