Rochester, N.Y. — A new comic book project is giving young creators in Rochester a chance to bring original characters to life while honoring the history of Clarissa Street ahead of the neighborhood’s annual reunion.
Clarissa Street Legacyis unveiling the project as part of the 28th annual Clarissa Street Reunion, offering what organizers describe as a unique artistic experience inspired by Rochester’s historic Clarissa Street.
Rochester’s Clarissa Street was once considered “Black Wall Street” and was known as a melting pot that brought together people of Black, Italian, Irish and Jewish descent in the 1900s.
The comic book initiative is designed to showcase the neighborhood’s rich history and cultural legacy.
“When we put this together, we wanted it to be intergenerational so that we’d have younger people and our elders from that community to kind of work together,” said Clarissa Street Legacy Foundation President Renee Long. “And so, when we put it together, it was meant to have them both have some history and have some of that imagination of what, not just what Clarissa street was, but the imagination of what it could’ve become.”
The Clarissa Street Reunion is set for Aug. 15.
MORE: Jimmie and Lu Highsmith preview 27th Clarissa St Reunion | Clarissa Street holds 26th annual reunion
