Above, Ceremonialist Ifé Franklin, with Elder Mama Lula Christopher and curator Beyazmin Jiménez in front of the new art installation created by Nora Valdez. Cassidy McNeeley photo
A new art installation at Comfort Kitchen on Columbia Road was dedicated last Tuesday (June 23) in a ceremony focused on three enslaved people whose remains are buried in the Dorchester North Burying Ground next door.
The stone sculptures by local artist Nora Valdez feature two women, Betty and Bristol, and one girl, Cambridge, standing side by side. A plaque beside it reads, “Brought from Antigua in bondage, buried in Dorchester. Their names endure, honored, remembered, and free.”
According to the Harvard Radcliffe Institute, the three slaves were owned by Robert Oliver, a wealthy businessman who came to Boston from Antigua in 1736. Betty and Bristol, 25 and 30, worked in his home at the modern-day intersection of Columbia Road, Massachusetts Avenue, and Boston Street.
Cambridge, who lived to just three years old, died in 1747, while Betty and Bristol died the following year. Little is known about the lives they led.
The memorial is the culmination of an effort that started last year when a group convened by Beyazmin Jiménez walked from the Strand Theatre to Comfort Kitchen to honor Betty, Bristol, and Cambridge.
The Burying Ground, owned by the city of Boston, was the first established in Dorchester, dating back to 1633, just three years after the Puritans first set foot on Massachusetts ground. It also includes the graves of many of the founders of the settlement that became the Town of Dorchester.
Jiménez is the curator of Connecting with Our Ancestral Lineages, a community-based group that centers diasporic practices through food, art, and ceremony. “I’ve been feeling so blessed to have this come back full circle.”
She first collaborated with the Comfort Kitchen team – Biplaw Rai and Nyacko Pearl Perry – in 2024 with ceremonialist Luana Morales.
“The idea is about connecting food with culture, and also just giving us a space to talk about all the ways that spirit continues to connect us to our ancestors,” said Jiménez.
The community-based group gathered at Comfort Kitchen’s patio, where the permanent marker for Betty, Bristol, and Cambridge was recently installed. Back row: Beyazmin Jiménez, Nyacko Pearl Perry, Nora Valdez, Ifé Franklin, Marlene Boyette, Mama Lula Christopher, Eroc Arroyo-Montano Front row: Jemuel Stephenson, Biplaw Rai, Javi Arroyo-Lomon. Cassidy McNeeley photo
“Biplaw and Nyacko are two people who really brought all their restaurants together with that intention, that the community needed to be placed at the center of what they were doing. I knew Comfort Kitchen would be the place.”
With Rai’s help, Jiménez applied for a City of Boston Activation grant, which has since partly funded events like a Black + Indigenous gathering with ArtsEmerson and a dinner with South African Chef Sanza of Yeoville Dinner Club.
The group has also conducted several public ceremonies, including last year’s procession in honor of enslaved ancestors.
“For a few years, this community in Uphams Corner had done their own celebrations and honoring of these lives,” explained Jiménez.
Last year’s procession also featured sound healing by Marlene Boyette, poetry from Eroc Arroyo-Montano and his son, Javí, and a drumming procession from Jean Appolon Expressions. The event was supported by A’Dahi Baira, with a portion funded by the City of Boston Arts and Culture grant.
It was led by ceremonialist Ifé Franklin, who guided the procession through Uphams Corner on one of the hottest days of the year. But she felt called to do more.
“I heard them,” Franklin said. “I don’t know if it was Bristol, Betty, or Cambridge, but they said, ‘We need our names in your establishment somewhere. Just put it there so we can continue to not only protect you from the outside but protect you from the inside.’ That’s how we got here.”
The team next enlisted Valdez to create the stone markers that have now been installed in a patio space at Comfort Kitchen.
Originally from Argentina, Valdez moved to Boston in 1986 and is an international award-winning sculptor. Her work often explores the nature of home and the immigrant experience.
Above, Ceremonialist Ifé Franklin with Elder Mama Lula Christopher in front of the new art installation created by Nora Valdez. Cassidy McNeeley photo
Known for global comfort food, Comfort Kitchen is rooted in the immigrant experience and already features some of Valdez’s work. Jiménez and Rai knew she would be perfect for this project, too, since she lives and works right in the neighborhood.
“She has a studio at Humphrey Art Studios, pretty much up the street,” Jiménez told The Reporter. “It’s not just Dorchester, but really an Uphams Corner local artist.”
She added, “Comfort Kitchen is a community partner, they want to be part of these stories that thread the neighborhood together, they want to work with local artists. The idea is that Comfort Kitchen can be this almost grounding presence in the community where people know they are there to honor the history of the community and work with folks who are interested in bringing more art and connection to the city.”
“Boston is a city that does have a lot of history,” she added. “A lot of it feels disjointed oftentimes. There are enough of us who are paying attention and are looking for others to make these stories more visible.”
