Ahead of Boston Marathon, runners retrace city's Black history

Boston Globe

20-04-2025

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The Sunday run highlighted historical figures shaped by abolition such as
Jeff Joseph (R) a co-captain of Black Men Run explained the significance of Holmes Alley during a shakeout run hosted by Black Men Run Boston exploring Boston's role in the Underground Railroad.
Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
'If these people can risk their lives, show courage, and resist despite the racialized oppression in America, we can do our part today,' Davis said.
Black Men Run Boston began the annual, history-focused shakeout runs four years ago, 'as a way to unravel those stories the city just doesn't talk about,' said co-captain Serghino René. The previous runs stopped at sites in the Back Bay, Beacon Hill, the South End, and along the Waterfront.
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Eventually, René hopes that by exposing people to Black history in Boston, more people will 'interweave' it with the commonplace stories that most are taught about the city.
'I should be able to talk about Phillis Wheatley and Benjamin Roberts ... in conjunction with Paul Revere and Benjamin Franklin,' René said.
For co-captain Jeff Joseph, the chance to introduce Boston residents to pieces of Black Boston's story is just as, if not more, important
than getting the information out to people visiting for the marathon.
'They can see their history show up, but [it's] even more to continue to teach those coming up that this is a part of where you live,' Joseph said.
To a soundtrack of LMFAO and DJ Khaled, yoga teacher Adina Crawford led the running group in a warmup. Davis, Joseph, and René then provided a quick introduction to the group's origin, and pulled in statistics on health disparities.
A runner passed through Holmes Alley as they took part in a shakeout run hosted by Black Men Run Boston exploring Boston's role in the Underground Railroad.
Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
Joseph said Black men have a
After a quick introduction from each runner, the group set off. They trekked over the rough cobblestones of
Along the way, the runners stopped at the African Meeting House, where famous abolitionists such as Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, and William Lloyd Garrison demanded liberation for enslaved people. As Davis briefed the crowd on the site's significance, Florence Etienne of Lynn hummed in approval.
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A longtime Massachusetts resident, the Haiti native said she knows a lot about how Black people contributed to Boston's history. But even she learned some new facts Sunday morning. Etienne was touched by the story of
'That got me thinking,' Etienne said. 'It's a legacy.'
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For their last stop, the dozens of joggers walked single-file through Holmes Alley. Adjacent to the home of Underground Railroad participant Isabella Holmes, the path once connected to a secret tunnel for fugitive enslaved people. Davis corralled the group into the alley, and brushed his hands along the home's brown bricks on his way to the other side.
'We live in a world where everything's artificial,' Davis said. When given the opportunity to touch a place his ancestor squeezed through on their way to freedom, 'I just wanted to be fully present.'
Jason Stevens, a Black Men Run Boston member, has run in different places, ranging from Atlanta to Puerto Rico. But he had never had a chance to learn about the history that shaped the places he was jogging past in real-time, he said.
'It rejuvenated my mind and my body at the same time,' he said.
Tiana Woodard can be reached at