New Edition, a legendary R&B group that has been honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and a Grammy, was formed in Roxbury in 1978 right at the site of Saturday’s celebration. The Boys & Girls Club building at the intersection of Ambrose and Albany streets was previously called the Orchard Park Community Center, where the six bandmates first met each other while living in the Orchard Gardens Housing project.
Saturday’s celebration took place during Boston’s “For the Culture Week,” which honored Black excellence and the legacy of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, or HBCU’s. Saturday was the first time in five decades that two HBCUs — Johnson C. Smith University and Morehouse College — faced off in a game of football. The week of events will wrap on Sunday with a HBCU day at Fenway Park and a Gospel Fest featuring notable musicians like John P. Kee, among other celebrations.
Notable local leaders, including Wu and US Representative Ayanna Pressley, joined all six of the bandmates to share remarks about the influence the community and the band have had on each other.
“Everything we learned, every wave, the way we are, our attitude, our swag — is all from you. We got that here,” Ralph Tresvant, lead singer of New Edition, said to the cheering crowd.
The band members — Tresvant, Bobby Brown, Johnny Gill, Michael Bivins, Ronnie DeVoe, and Ricky Bell — reminisced on their upbringing in Boston and thanked fans for their support throughout the years.
“We just want to say thank you. And I want us all to look that way to that building,” Bivins said, pointing to the Boys & shorty’s Club building as the crowd turned around to face it, “In that building is where it all started.”
Acknowledging the occasional internal conflicts that afflicted the band throughout its 42 years, Bell said it was the bandmates’ common roots that kept them together.
“We were friends and brothers before we started singing,” Bell said. “So we can’t get away from each other.”
At the end of his speech, Bell presented the Orchard Gardens Resident Association with a $25,000 check. Later, Gill gave a check of the same amount to the Boston Arts Academy Foundation, which supports the city’s only public high school for visual and performing arts.
Frank Farrow, executive director of the mayor’s Office for Black Male Advancement, highlighted the impact the band — widely considered the pioneers of the modern boy band — made on the R&B and beat scene.
“They have been trendsetters and role models for Black men and boys in Boston and across the United States, demonstrating resilience, creativity, and the power of brotherhood,” Farrow said.
Highlighting the importance of preserving Black history, Pressley presented the band with a congressional citation.
“Who we monumentalize — it matters,” Pressley said. “Equity in street names, statues, buildings, and the representation that comes with it — it matters.”
Wu thanked the band for the attention they have brought to Roxbury and said the city is “proud” to “brag about you and honor you on our streets.”
After the street renaming ceremony, the crowd dispersed for a block event. People danced and sang along to beat by Black artists, including Michael Jackson, Mary J. Blige, and, of course, New Edition. Others took pictures in front of large white letters spelling out “New Edition Way” before heading over to grab free food. Kids enjoyed a large bounce house and prepared for back-to-school with a backpack giveaway.
Rudy Bienaime, 59, was sporting a 2022 New Edition tour t-shirt. He attended the group’s Boston leg of The Culture Tour, held at TD Garden. Like many attendees, Bienaime has been a fan since the very start.
A Roxbury resident for most of his life, he said he “always did like New Edition, and they ended up making it big.”
“They could’ve given us a free concert,” Bienaime said, laughing.
Michele Frazier, 65, was watching as an LED screen truck flashed through photos of the band in its early days. Frazier, a Roxbury resident, has known the band members since before they blew up and has supported them from day one.
“It’s an honor to see this, to see someone come back and give a lot back to the community,” she said.
Emily Spatz can be reached at emily.spatz@globe.com. Follow her on X @emilymspatz.
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