To understand this Saturday’s Clarissa Street Reunion, it’s vital to know who is coming together after having been separated, and why.
Clarissa Street was Rochester’s Black Wall Street. In the 1940s through the 1960s, when migration of Black families from the South to Northern cities like Rochester became commonplace, Clarissa Street boomed.
It was a place where many people of color lived and had their businesses — doctor’s offices, funeral homes, grocery stores and The Pythodd Room, a renowned jazz club.
“Many artists that would come through Rochester at different venues would always stop at Clarissa Street — The Pythodd Room — to play at that historic jazz place,” said Patricia Mason, the vice president of Clarissa Street Legacy.
According to Clarissa Street Legacy’s website, the organization’s mission is to celebrate, educate, honor and perpetuate the historical heritage and multicultural diversity of Clarissa Street, which sits in and near Rochester’s Corn Hill neighborhood.
Clarissa Street Legacy oversees and handles the Clarissa Uprooted exhibit at the Rundel Library, hosts educational tours for high school and college students and puts efforts into keeping the history of the street accessible.
It also is the organization that hosts the annual Clarissa Street Reunion, which takes place Saturday, Aug. 23.
Clarissa Street Reunion not simply a festival: Why it matters
Due to urban renewal and planning for the Interstate 490 highway through the city, many residents and businesses were forced to leave the neighborhood.
“There was no more Clarissa Street. Clarissa Street was their safe haven, was their home. Those people had to relocate to different parts of the city,” Mason said.
“The Clarissa Street Reunion is really an opportunity for those who used to live on Clarissa Street to be able to come back. It’s a way to reconnect with their friends, so that they can talk about the great times they had on Clarissa Street,” Mason said.
Mason explained that the festival is also a way to educate younger generations on the history of the neighborhood.
Outside of building community, sharing stories and education, attendees can expect to see over 50 vendors and two stages playing a combination of R&B, gospel and of course jazz music.
“Sometimes people think, ‘Oh, it’s just a festival,’ and it’s not. It’s being able — for us — to tell our story to make surer that people know just how significant Clarissa Street was for people of color,” Mason said.
Clarissa Street Reunion 2025 festival details
Date: Saturday, Aug. 23
Time: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Location: Clarissa Street between Troup and Adams streets
Entertainment:
Parking: There will be no parking on Clarissa Street from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 23. Vehicles on Clarissa Street after 7 a.m. Saturday will be subject to towing by the Rochester Police Department.
— As a Rochester native, Justice Marbury entered the world of journalism to create work where voices like hers were heard—the voices of minority communities. Marbury covers small businesses, neighborhood concerns, and the interesting people who live in Rochester neighborhoods. As the 19th Ward reporter, she has helped implement community outreach ideas by asking what people in various communities want to read about themselves in addition to regular news. Contact her on Instagram @justice_marbury and by email at jmarbury@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Clarissa Street Reunion celebrates the lost history of ‘Rochester’s Black Wall Street’
Reporting by Justice Marbury, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
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