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The Rita Hester Green honors a Black trans woman who was murdered in Allston in 1998. She partly inspired the worldwide Transgender Day of Remembrance.
A new park opened near Boston Landing in Brighton this month, named to honor a Black transgender woman killed in the neighborhood.
The Rita Hester Green opened on June 30 at the end of Pride Month, according to the landscape architect firm CopleyWolff. The green opened near Allston Yards, a new mixed-use development near the boundary between Brighton and Allston.
The green space, designed in collaboration with the Boston Planning and Development Agency, includes a dog park, garden beds, picnic tables, a plaza, and a sprawling lawn. The space also includes accessibility ramps to go from the path over the curb and onto the green.
At the front of the park, a plaque honors Hester, “a beloved Allston resident … known for her vibrancy and love of entertaining.”
Hester, a Black trans woman, was murdered in Allston in 1998.
“After Rita’s life was tragically taken in an act of violence, her legacy inspired the Transgender Day of Remembrance,” the plaque says. “Observed worldwide every November 20, the day honors the lives lost to anti-transgender violence and reaffirms a global commitment to kindness and equality.”
Hester’s death, along with the murder of Chanelle Pickett in Watertown in 1995 and Monique Thomas in Dorchester in 1998, inspired the day of remembrance.
The BPDA referred questions about the naming process to the development of Allston Yards, which did not respond to inquiries.
Just a half-mile away, Hester’s face watches over Union Square in Allston. “Rita’s Spotlight,” a mural by artist Rixy, was installed the summer of 2022 on a building adjacent to the Jackson Mann Community Center.
At-Large Boston City Councilor Henry Santana celebrated the opening of the Rita Hester Green late last month, noting in a post on Instagram that Hester’s murder remains unsolved. City Councilor Liz Breadon, who represents Allston-Brighton, was also in attendance.
“The dedication ceremony was deeply moving, attended by Rita’s family and friends, elected officials, and many neighbors,” Santana wrote. “It was an honor to join the community in dedicating this space to Rita’s legacy.”
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