Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1313443
NORTHSHOREMAG.COM 80 DECEMBER 2020 Growing up in Andover, Elizabeth Walther-Grant was often the only person of color in her class at school—and sometimes the only one in her entire grade. "I felt alone a lot of times, because I was surrounded by people who didn't necessarily know what it's like to live in a place where you don't see anybody else who looks like you," says Walther-Grant, cofounder of Merrimack Valley Black and Brown Voices, a support and advocacy organization for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) on the North Shore. Walther-Grant, who is 25, was far from the only person feeling that way, somewhat to her surprise. Scrolling through Facebook this spring, Walther-Grant came across a post written by Bria Gadsden, who moved from Boston to North Andover in 2019, talking about how it felt to be a BIPOC in a predominantly white community. Walther-Grant had never met Gadsden, but commented on her post, as did Mayara Reis, a 21-year-old paralegal and criminal justice student who lives in North Andover. The three strangers—the only people of color who had commented on Gadsden's post—moved their conversation to Facebook Messenger. "I originally thought I was just gaining two new friends, to hang out with and go to movies," Walther-Grant says. But just a week later, in early June, the three decided to launch a Facebook group exclusively for BIPOC on the North Shore, to offer a supportive community for sharing and connecting. "We created the group because, as a kid, I needed something like this," Walther-Grant says. "I needed a place where I could find other people like me." Lots of people needed exactly the same thing—in just a few short months, that Facebook group has grown to more than Merrimack Valley Black and Brown Voices connects BIPOC on the North Shore. BY JEANNE O'BRIEN COFFEY FINDING COMMUNITY PHOTOGRAPHS BY SARAH GATES I N - D E P T H Left to right, Bria Gadsden, Elizabeth Walther-Grant, and Mayara Reis 800 members, and spawned the nonprofit Merrimack Valley Black and Brown Voices. "I didn't know that there were this many people of color in our area," Walther-Grant says, noting that in its short existence, the group has already spawned important connections. "We've had a lot of people tell us things like, 'Because of this group, I found my son a hairdresser who works perfectly with his hair type,' or 'My son now has three new friends that he can play with.' It definitely makes a difference." The Facebook group is strictly for BIPOC, intended as a space to freely share feelings without judgement. "Most of the people in our private Facebook group are professionals,"