A large crowd of family and friends gathered last Tuesday (April 22) to celebrate Terrence Clarke Day in the City of Boston and to unveil a sign that memorializes the late basketball star outside the Vine Street Community Center in Roxbury.
The commemoration coincided with the fourth anniversary of the death of the 19-year-old University of Kentucky standout who died in a car accident in Los Angeles where he was training ahead of the 2021 NBA draft in which he was expected to be a top pick.
Getting a boost from a few friends, Russell Martin unveiled the Terrence Clarke Square sign at the corner of Dudley and Vine Streets on April 22.
Family members and friends have kept his memory alive with events that include a Thanksgiving food pantry and high school basketball tournament each November at Vine Street, where a court is also named in his memory.
“Terrence is not here with us physically today, but he’s with us from above,” said Russell Martin, who helped organize the memorial event. “Getting the street or a square named after him, that was the goal, and we accomplished that goal today.”
Osmine Clarke, Terrence’s mom, and Adrian Briggs, his father, spoke to the crowd of friends, family, coaches, and teammates who gathered in the TC5 Memorial Gymnasium inside the center.
Clarke’s mother, Osmine, and his father, Adrian Briggs.
“He used to tell me he was just a kid from Boston, but one day everyone would know who he was, and he was right, but it wasn’t because of basketball they knew him, but because of who he was and his inspiration to all,” said Briggs. “This square is a symbol to every young child in Boston that anything is possible.”
Also speaking were representatives for state Sen. Liz Miranda and Mayor Wu.
Clarke was popular fixture around Dorchester before becoming a star basketball player. He attended middle school at the former Helen Davis Leadership Academy in Fields Corner and honed his hoops skills at the Dorchester House gym. His basketball talents soared during that time and, afterward, when he was at the Rivers School.
Coach Al Rue, one of Clarke’s first coaches, signed the memorial poster commemorating the dedication.
Seth Daniel photos
