Submitted by Bedford Youth and Family Services
Many of you may remember the Faces of Bedford Photo exhibit that debuted Bedford Day, Saturday, September 16, 2006, at Bedford Town Hall. Sponsored by the Violence Prevention Coalition (VPC) and funded in part by the Bedford Cultural Council, a local agency supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency, the project was part of the Anti-Defamation League’s No Place for Hate program at the time, and was supported by a grant made possible through the generosity of their program sponsor Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts. The exhibit contains 27 photos and family descriptions, showcasing the diversity in our community at the time.
The VPC chose to highlight 30 families of all types, including people who have grown up in Bedford and chose to raise their own families here,
as well as more recent additions to our community. Included were members of our community who represent a variety of races, generations, educational backgrounds, economic backgrounds, and belief systems. It was our intention to illustrate the diversity of Bedford and encompass some of the overlooked groups, as well as people who are driving forces within our community. We wanted to celebrate this diversity, as it is part of what makes Bedford such a warm, welcoming, and accepting place to live.
Much has changed in Bedford in 13 years. The children featured in the exhibit have grown, some families have moved out of town or separated, others in the exhibit have died. The Bedford community has become even more diverse. While the VPC is not proposing a redo of the project at this time, we were thinking it would be edifying to take a look at our recent past prior to turning the exhibit over to the Bedford Historical Society and prior to Bedford’s upcoming 290th-anniversary celebration this September.
The Faces exhibit will make its first reappearance this month at the regular meeting of the Bedford Historical Society, Sunday, 2/24/19 at 2 p.m. at Old Town Hall in the Great Room on the 2nd floor. Plan to come a little early and take a look at the exhibit before attending the meeting and presentation by Town Historian Sharon McDonald on slavery in Bedford. After that, the exhibit will be available to travel to various organizations, events, and businesses in Bedford and will likely make an appearance at Annual Town Meeting Monday, March 25th, 2019. The Citizen plans to profile some of the Faces families so watch for that!
Plans are underway to have photos displayed in the Bedford Historical Society display case at the high school later in the spring for a time-limited period. If you are interested in arranging the Faces of Bedford exhibit for your group or organization, please call 781-275-7727.
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