May 10, 2023
Just ahead of Sunday’s Mother’s Day Walk for Peace, the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute last weekend carried out the first installment of its Peace Poles Trail. The project looks to honor those lost to violence in colorful mixed-media installations on street poles. Each installation will uplift one of the seven principles of peace that guide the work at the Peace Institute – love, unity, hope, faith, courage, justice, and forgiveness. The poles also celebrate the dreams and principles of lost loved ones.
Together, the poles will offer a Peace Trail of memories and center the participation of members of the younger generation working on Saturday with the Fields Corner Crossroads Collaborative Youth Council.
Imani Palmer, of the Fields Corner Crossroads Collaborative Youth Council, applies decorations to a Peace Pole located at the corner of Park Street and Geneva Avenue in Fields Corner. A second pole was completed at the corner of Dorchester Avenue and Park Street.
Courtesy Louis D. Brown Peace Institute
While the project is designed to grow over time, it began with the creation of seven Peace Poles along the route of the annual Mother’s Day Walk for Peace. An artist cohort of muralists, educators, arts therapists, and survivors has designed the poles and guided children and families from the Peace Institute’s survivor network on how to include their loved ones’ memories alongside the principles they embodied.
Artists involved include Ruth Henry, Generation Peace Teaching Artist-in-Residence, Louis D. Brown Peace Institute; Alexis Smith, lead artist for Love Pole and Survivor Ambassador; and Temmy Monteiro Gomes, lead artist for Unity Pole and Generation Peace Ambassador.
The 27th annual walk begins at 8 a.m. on Sunday. It will stay centered in Dorchester, following a route back to Town Field. For more information, see www.mothersdaywalk4peace.org/.