Nearly 300 residents, elected officials, journalists, librarians and community leaders gathered outside the Boston Public Library’s Shaw-Roxbury branch on July 18 to celebrate the official renaming of the building.

The ceremony and renaming honored Sarah-Ann Shaw, a pioneering journalist, civic leader and lifelong Roxbury resident whose influence helped shape generations of Black Boston. Shaw made history in 1969 as Boston’s first Black woman television reporter at WBZ-TV.

For those who knew her, the day represented more than the dedication of a public building. It marked the permanent recognition of a woman whose work in journalism, education, civic engagement and neighborhood advocacy helped define modern Roxbury.

Rev. Willie Bodrick II called the dedication “more than just an unveiling,” describing it as an act of preserving community memory and ensuring that “generations yet unborn will know whose shoulders they stand upon.”

Master of ceremonies Rev. Mariama White-Hammond opened the program with a reminder that Shaw expected meetings to start and end on time, drawing laughter from those who knew her well.

Mayor Michelle Wu joined Boston Public Library President David Leonard, state Sen. Liz Miranda, state Rep. Chris Worrell, City Councilor Miniard Culpepper, WBUR “¡Con Salsa!” host José Massó, Bay State Banner Publisher Ron Mitchell and other community leaders in celebrating Shaw’s life and legacy.

“There are in fact only three of our 25 branches that are named for individuals,” Leonard said, noting that the distinction reflects Shaw’s extraordinary contributions to Boston and to the library she championed throughout her life. He described her as “Boston’s first Black woman TV reporter, lifelong Roxbury resident, lifelong library lover and user.”

In an email statement issued prior to the ceremony, Leonard said, “Sarah-Ann Shaw spent her career making sure Roxbury’s stories were told with the seriousness they deserved. The Shaw-Roxbury Branch will carry that legacy forward for generations of patrons to come.”

“The family and our many friends wish to thank the community for the affection and admiration shown her,” Shaw’s daughter Klare said after the ceremony. “We also thank the city staff and the mayor for this honor. My mother was an advocate for education and literacy; she remembered the stories my grandparents told of penalties for Black people who could read. I know she would wish for unity among Black people in Roxbury and collective work to address the critical issues we face locally and nationally.”

Speakers throughout the ceremony emphasized that journalism represented only part of Shaw’s legacy. They recalled a mentor who challenged young leaders, a relentless advocate for voting rights and neighborhood investment, a supporter of local arts and culture and a familiar presence inside the Roxbury library, where she served as president of the Friends of the Library and pushed for improvements that culminated in the branch’s award-winning renovation.

Wu said Shaw regularly checked out “10 to 12 books at a time” and insisted on calling library staff rather than reserving books online.

“Human connection wasn’t an inconvenience,” Wu said. “It was why we are all here.”

That commitment to relationships echoed throughout the morning.

Miranda described the library as a place where generations of Roxbury children have gathered after school, calling it “a safe place to come, to learn, to congregate.” She said Shaw used the platform she earned to make sure “people who had long been invisible feel seen.”

Worrell echoed the importance of the dedication.

“We are reclaiming history,” he said, adding that every child entering the library will now see the name of “a Black woman from their neighborhood” before opening a book.

Originally opened in 1978 as the Dudley Branch, the library has long served as one of Roxbury’s civic anchors. Renamed the Roxbury Branch after Dudley Square became Nubian Square, the building was extensively renovated in 2020 and has become a center for literacy, civic engagement, cultural programming and community gathering. The Shaw-Roxbury library renaming was approved last year after advocacy from community leaders and approval from the city and the library’s board of trustees.

The library embodied some of the same values Shaw held. For decades, she fought to ensure that Roxbury’s stories were covered fairly, its institutions remained strong and its residents had spaces to gather, organize and learn.

As the ceremony concluded and residents filtered back into Nubian Square, the new Shaw-Roxbury Branch sign stood above the entrance as both memorial and reminder.

WBUR host Massó recalled that after hearing one of his radio broadcasts, Shaw offered him advice he never forgot.

“What you do is not a job,” she told him. “It’s not a career. It’s a responsibility. ... You need to be a truth teller. You need to speak truth to power.”