The Shorefront Legacy Center welcomed more than 100 people to its grand public opening on Nov. 13. After seven years of planning and a move in May 2009, Shorefront celebrated its new gallery and research and archive room in its new location in the Weissbourd-Holmes Family Focus Center, 2010 Dewey Ave.
Playwright Ebony Joy served as emcee for the event. Poet Parneshia Jones recited “Legacy,” a poem she presented to Shorefront. Artist Alan Hyde showcased four paintings for the Shorefront gallery. Executive director Joi-Anissa Russell thanked the numerous grantors and the membership base for their generous support over the last decade; founder Dino Robinson gave a brief history of the organization and its programs and activities and acknowledged the dedicated work of the board of directors and advisers.
From its beginnings in 1995, the grass-roots research initiative grew to include traveling exhibits and two publications before the group became known as Shorefront and incorporated as a non-profit in 2002. The work of Shorefront includes the publication of the Shorefront Journal, which has attracted dozens of writers, larger exhibits, lectures and youth programs.
Shorefront’s archives – manuscripts, books, the history of the African American communities on the North Shore – now occupy more than 80 cubic feet. The Legacy Center is open from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m Thursday and Friday and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.
