Boston

A famous Boston church that was renowned for its place at the center of Paul Revere’s famous midnight ride is reckoning with its discovery that its 18th Century congregation was a gathering place for slave traders. Today, the Old North Church & Historic Site is shining a light on its dark history.

Boston officials announced Tuesday night that a controversial statue featuring President Abraham Lincoln with a freed Black man on his knees will be removed. A petition to remove “The Emancipation Group,” a replica of a statue in Washington, accrued 12,000 signatures, the office of Mayor Marty Walsh said. “This is not about Lincoln, this is about the figure that’s supposed…

Over the past several weeks, as the United States reckoned with the relationship between police and people of color, we went to five protests around Boston to capture what brought participants into the streets in their words. We came away with portraits of dozens of people of many races, nationalities, ages and reasons for protesting. One of the questions we…

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker announced Tuesday that the state has received the results of the thousands of coronavirus tests conducted on residents who have participated in protests, marches and rallies since the death of George Floyd a month ago. He said a total of 17,617 tests were conducted statewide at 52 free, pop-up testing sites set up on June 17…

Six former employees of eBay have been charged with cyberstalking for allegedly waging a harassment campaign against a Natick, Massachusetts couple behind an online newsletter that criticized the e-commerce company. In a news conference, U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling said Monday the former employees sent menacing packages to the couple’s home — including a bloody pig mask — to deter them…

Boston’s mayor is considering the fate of a public statue depicting former President Abraham Lincoln standing before a freed black man after a petition called for its removal.

Mayor Marty Walsh on Friday declared racism a public health crisis in the city of Boston and immediately redirected $3 million in police overtime funds to help address the issue. He said that as part of his proposed 2021 budget that will be submitted on Monday he will reallocate 20%, or $12 million, of the Boston Police Department’s overtime budget…

An unnamed Boston Bruins player has tested positive for the coronavirus, the team announced Friday, just days after the team began holding practices together again. The NHL recently approved a plan that would bring the 2019-20 season to a close and create an expanded playoff tournament. The second phase of that plan requires players to be tested for the virus…

The beheaded statue of Christopher Columbus in Boston’s North End has been removed and now the entire statue is going to be put in storage amid rising calls for an end to racism nationwide.

Protesters marched to Boston City Hall Wednesday calling for city leadership to reduce its spending on police amid a nationwide push for sweeping structural reforms to the law enforcement system. The Coalition of Black Youth planned the march to urge the City Council to redirect police funding to youth jobs programs, violence prevention and to hire additional mental health councilors…

The head of a statue of Christopher Columbus in Boston’s North End has been removed and now the entire statue is going to be put in storage amid rising calls for an end to racism nationwide. The vandalism occurred at some point overnight. A call was received by the Boston Police Department around 12:30 a.m. Wednesday. The head was...

Protesters gathered Wednesday to demand that 10% of the police budget be redirected to social programs like job placement and violence prevention.

Watch Cardinal Sean O’Malley’s full comments in the above video. Referring to George Floyd’s death as a “murder” carried out “at the hands of four rogue police officers,” Boston’s Archbishop condemned racism as an “evil and moral cancer.” Cardinal Sean O’Malley spoke strongly in a letter Friday night, recognizing the Catholic Church’s “historical complicity in slavery” and calling on...

Demonstrations denouncing racism following the death of George Floyd took place across Massachusetts Thursday as activists push for change amid anger over police brutality against black people. Hundreds of people took a knee in silence at a vigil in support of Black Lives Matter around a major Jamaica Plain intersection. The First Church at Jamaica Plain’s bells tolled nine...

Like George Floyd, he was black, in his mid-40s, and died at the hands of a white man. And like Floyd, he may have helped touch off a revolution. Many in the Black Lives Matter movement are invoking Crispus Attucks — an African American gunned down by a British soldier in the Boston Massacre of 1770 — as a symbol…

Hundreds of protesters calling for justice following the death of George Floyd circled Boston Common and parts of downtown Wednesday in the city’s latest event to denounce police brutality and call for the end of structural racism. The “Justice for George” event aimed to honor the life of Floyd, a black man who died after a Minneapolis police officer...

A Boston man charged with trying to gun down police officers during the chaotic aftermath of Sunday’s peaceful protests will remain in custody while he awaits trial. A judge on Wednesday granted a request from Suffolk County prosecutors to hold 37-year-old John Boampong without bail, writing there is clear and convincing evidence his release will endanger the safety of...

Thousands of protesters filled a park in Boston Tuesday night to denounce police brutality against black people as anger over the death of George Floyd continues to roil the city and the nation. The gathering was overwhelmingly peaceful, but it stretched on for hours as hundreds of participants who marched from Franklin Park headed downtown, massing at one point outside…

As thousands of people protested the death of George Floyd in Boston, throughout Massachusetts and across the nation this weekend, a big concern among medical professionals is what those large gatherings could mean for the spread of the coronavirus. “I’m definitely concerned about the level of contact,” said Dr. David Hamer, an infectious disease specialist with Boston Medical Center....

Shattered glass and debris lined the streets of Boston Monday morning after peaceful protests denouncing police brutality turned ugly overnight, leaving businesses in numerous neighborhoods damaged. Residents and business owners from Downtown Crossing to the Back Bay awoke to the chaotic aftermath, even as some offices in Boston were allowed to reopen for the first time in months as some…