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A memorial mural of Rita Hester, who was murdered in 1998, appears on a wall at 506 Cambridge Street, near where she lived. Her death inspired the creation of Transgender Day of Remembrance, marking its 25th anniversary, Nov. 15-17, 2024.
The Rita Hester Green opened on June 30 in Boston to mark the end of Pride Month.
A new park has opened in Boston named after Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was murdered near the same area in 1998.
The Rita Hester Green opened on June 30 to mark the end of Pride Month, according to an announcement from landscape architect firm CopleyWolff, which calls it a "joyful, inclusive space made for connection and year-round fun, featuring a dog park, flexible event lawn, quiet corners, and playful natural buffers."
The park is located between Brighton and Allston, where Hester used to live. Hester was stabbed more than 20 times on her way home from the Silhouette Lounge, a local cocktail bar, which was less than a 5-minute walk from her first-floor apartment at 21 Park Vale Ave. She was taken to Beth Israel Hospital but died from her wounds shortly after. She was 34. Her cased remains unsolved to this day.
Hester's murder was one of the cases that inspired Transgender Day of Remembrance, as noted by the plaque at the park, which reads, “After Rita’s life was tragically taken in an act of violence, her legacy inspired the Transgender Day of Remembrance. Observed worldwide every November 20, the day honors the lives lost to anti-transgender violence and reaffirms a global commitment to kindness and equality.”
Hester's family attended the park opening ceremony with at-large Boston City Councilor Henry Santana and Allston-Brighton City Councilor Liz Breadon. Santana said on Instagram that it was "an honor to join the community in dedicating this space to Rita’s legacy."
Eartha Hester, Rita's sister, told The Advocate in 2023 that she believes the case went unsolved because Boston Police didn’t devote time or resources to it, as “Rita wasn’t just gay, she was also Black so she had two things that were not on her side at that time."
“They didn’t gather evidence that they were supposed to because they didn’t really care,” Eartha said, adding, “We have a man in a dress, whatever. They just didn’t care. They didn’t have empathy.”
Eartha still said that she and her family have been moved by the support Hester has received in death, referencing TDOR and a mural of Rita at 506 Cambridge St. The text next to the painting of Rita’s face is a line from one of her poems: “Look to me, my family.”
“She just happened to be a star for Transgender Day of Remembrance for a whole lot of other people, and I think that’s really beautiful," Eartha continued. "Her death was not in vain, she started something that will last forever ... Rita’s name is known worldwide.”
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