On a day filled with nostalgia and festivity, Boston raised a toast to its homegrown legends, New Edition, as the city celebrated "New Edition Day" with a street renaming and block party. The R&B icons, who have their roots deeply planted in the Roxbury neighborhood, were honored for their profound influence on the music industry and their local community. "It is an honor to welcome home Roxbury natives New Edition to celebrate their global impact," Mayor Michelle Wu proclaimed during the ceremony, as reported by WHDH.
The celebration marked an official street naming, with Dearborn Street now bearing the name "New Edition Way." The members — Ronnie DeVoe, Bobby Brown, Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, Ralph Tresvant and Johnny Gill — shared their gratitude for this momentous occasion. "This honor means the world to me," Brown told WHDH. "Boston is where it all began for us." Bell echoed his sentiment, adding, "02119 IS and WILL always be my home."
Furthermore, the day was punctuated by a touching gesture as New Edition donated $25,000 to the Orchard Gardens Resident Association and an additional $25,000 to the Boston Arts Academy Foundation. The generosity speaks volumes of their enduring connection to the Roxbury locale where their journey commenced. Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, also a native of Boston and lifelong fan, presented the group with a Congressional citation, as detailed by NBC10 Boston. "Their music made it possible to get through some of the toughest times in our lives," Pressley shared in her heartfelt address.
Among the sentiments expressed by the members, Bell's reflections resonated with the crowd as he discussed their enduring brotherhood and the significance of their roots. "We weren’t put together by some record executive… We were friends and were brothers before we started singing and making money together," Bell mentioned, according to NBC10 Boston. Intent on giving back, the legendary group's gesture also reminded the audience of their humble beginnings and undying love for Boston.
The celebrations were a fitting homage to the men from Roxbury who, long before the era of modern boy bands, crafted a sound that became the blueprint for others to follow. "Looking back over our lives, it's a lot of hard work and dedication that's been put in for the fans," Johnny Gill reflected in an interview ahead of the event.
