Across generations, East Boston tells its story
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Tide Talks began with a simple goal: to listen to East Boston residents as they navigate a neighborhood facing rising costs, shifting populations and an uncertain climate future. To celebrate the project, we invited three Eastie residents who contributed oral histories to kick off a community conversation about what they love about the neighborhood and their worries for the future.
Here are some highlights from the personal stories, reflections and advice they shared with neighbors last Saturday at Boston East’s Community Gallery on Border Street.
Sandra Nijjar, a longtime Eastie resident and the founder of the East Boston Community Soup Kitchen
Sandra spoke first, relating how her family bought their house and moved into the neighborhood nearly 30 years ago with every intention of moving out again within five years.
“We actually packed our stuff. We painted our house several times, and we even had a realtor come in and take pictures of the house, getting ready to put it on the market. … And next thing I knew, I couldn’t leave this neighborhood.”
“By then, I had already started getting involved in our community… I started to get involved, and then I started to meet wonderful people here, neighbors that were doing so much to fight and resist unfair things happening to our neighbors. And I started to learn from them.
“[I] have learned so much from all the people around us. And then look! With all the support and help from so many people in this community, we got this East Boston Community Soup Kitchen started.”
Sandra added her appreciation of how neighborhood residents come together, putting aside personal issues and animosities in times of need.
“When emergencies come, all of that disappears. I’ve seen it over and over again. We have different political views. We have different opinions on this, on that, and so sometimes we don’t like each other for those reasons, but it’s okay, because when we need to be there for each other, we are there for each other one hundred percent.“
Yassir Blanco, a 16-year-old lifelong East Boston resident and sailor at the Piers Park Sailing Center
Yassir started off by sharing his ancestry and reflecting on how his personal story reflects the neighborhood’s history.
“My first name comes from my Moroccan mother … and then Blanco, coming from my Salvadorian dad. So there’s the mix. So I have stories from both sides.”
“The people I’ve been surrounded with are like me … like, Moroccans and Hispanic people, which I really appreciate, because I can connect to a lot of people. I can walk down the street and talk to somebody in Arabic, or I can talk to somebody in English, or I can get to know somebody who’s Hispanic. I’m really grateful to be a part of many communities, and to get to learn more about myself, as well, from other people who have more experience and more stories to tell than I do.”
He talked about how he’s watched the neighborhood change over his lifetime growing up in the same house. “Growing up in this house, a lot of things have happened. A lot of changes have happened.”
From little things like the rising cost of the candy and sweets his father used to give him money to purchase when he was younger to the neighbors living on his street, Yassir expressed his unease with many changes he’s witnessed.
”It’s not the best feeling when you know things are changing and like, opportunities are not as there’s not as many opportunities there were before,” he says.
Gail Miller, East Boston environmental advocate and former president of Friends of Belle Isle Marsh
“My particular story is not something I’ve done alone. I’ve done it in coordination with 8 million people on many issues of an activist nature here in the community,” Gail says.
While she moved to East Boston back in 1981, some native East Bostonians still don’t consider her a local, she says. But while many different communities have passed through East Boston and coexist today, Gail sees activism as one constant.
“It kind of goes back to the Mary Ellen Welch‘s and the Anna Defronzo’s of the world that were fighting Massport early on, in the mid to late 60s, while Massport was trying to take as much as they could and abuse us as much as they could,” she says, referring to the Massachusetts Port Authority, which operates Boston Logan International Airport on the edge of the neighborhood. “These women stood up and out. They really took their message to the streets, and were very successful. So that inspired me, moving to this community.”
Gail went on to regale the audience with tales of environmental battles waged and won by neighborhood groups and their allies, including defeating the plans of a large oil conglomerate to transport millions of gallons of ethanol, a flammable liquid, by train to a Revere facility next door to East Boston. Global Partners LP eventually withdrew its proposal.
“They were one of the largest companies in the world,” she told those present. “So don’t ever be put off by the fact that you can’t fight a big company and win. It just takes a lot of energy (and) several years … So what I want to impart to all of you, and especially our young generation, is that we’re aging out. We’re getting tired. I can’t stress the importance of having the next generation standing behind us.
“Get involved,” she urged her neighbors, “because there’s always going to be a lot of big issues.”
Thank you to Gail, Yassir, Sandra, everyone who gave us an oral history interview, everyone else including State Sen. Lydia Edwards, State Rep. Adrian Madaro, who came out on January 24. We would also like to thank our Community Advisory Group members Liliana Tirado Arteaga, John Walkey and Josh Lown, who helped us plan and host the event. The Atlantic Works Gallery kindly lent us their sound system and Boston East hosted us at the housing complex’s Community Gallery on Border Street.
Tide Talks Oral History Project was made possible thanks to a generous grant from Mass Humanities. We would also like to thank the Boston Research Center for its support.
Tide Talks Continues
We’ve recorded more than a dozen oral histories—and we’re just getting started. If you live in or have roots in East Boston, reach out via email or fill out our contact form.
We’ll also be sharing more neighborhood stories in the Tide Talks Zine. Coming soon!
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