By Dave Ryan

CAMBRIDGE – The many contributions made by local Black leaders are remembered in a series of banners now on display on Pine Street.

In honor of Black History Month, the Groove City Black Heritage and Culture Group Inc. hung the banners on lampposts on Feb. 2, where they will remain throughout the year.

“The individuals were chosen because of their contributions to our community as educators, health care providers, community activists and leaders, especially during the civil rights movement in Cambridge that began in 1961,” said Veronica Taylor, who with Jill Jasuta designed the banners.

Featured are the Rev. Inez Grubb-Stafford, Bobby Johnson, Portia Johnson, the Rev. Lemuel Chester, the Rev. George Ames, Octavene Saunders, Edythe M. Jolley and Edward Watkins.

“It is important that we do not forget our local heroes and their efforts to end segregation and discrimination,” Ms. Taylor said in a posting online. Eleven banners were designed initially, with more planned when additional lampposts are installed. Cambridge Main Street funded the project.

Learn more about the history of Pine Street, once known as "Black Wall Street" for its many businesses, with the Dorchester Office of Tourism’s Pine Street Walking Tour brochure. Visit visitdorchester.org.