By Tashi McQueen
AFRO Staff Writer
The community of Cherry Hill showed out with a bang of glitz and glam as they celebrated their 80th anniversary with a gala at Martin’s West in Baltimore on the evening of May 16.
The venue was packed, as it was sold out, with numerous community members, those who currently live there and those who used to, and alongside a range of influential community leaders and state and local officials.
Credit: Meta (Facebook)/Kweisi Mfume
“We’re celebrating the dedication of the community, which happened in February 1946,” said Tracey Garrett-Rogers, 61. “As a community, we have highs and lows, but we’re moving in a great direction and we think it’s important to recognize our past, our present and what the future will look like. It’s a time to celebrate the accomplishments as well as the community.”
The event featured acknowledging a number of their legacy families, the first families that moved to Cherry Hill. One of the families honored included the Murphy family, known for starting the AFRO American Newspaper Company in 1892.
District Judge William H. Murphy Sr. owned a law practice in Cherry Hill, where he and his wife, Madeline, lived. Judge Murphy worked cases on workers’ compensation, family and criminal law. The firm built a great reputation in the 1970s as his son, Judge Billy Murphy Jr., expanded their criminal law practices when he successfully tried a series of cases related to social justice efforts.
He and the Murphy family remained active community members of Cherry Hill until 2003. Both he and his wife were passionate parts of their community, in various active roles in local and national politics, according to the Honorable William H. Madeline W. Murphy Scholarship Fund.
After moving to the Baltimore area in 1945, the family eventually moved to Cherry Hill, where they remained for 52 years.
During the gala, organizers announced that more than $50,000 was raised via the sale of the tickets to kick off their Cherry Hill Scholarship Fund. These donations will support Cherry Hill youth, young adults and older adults who are preparing to attend college, currently enrolled in college or pursuing trade school education.
“While Cherry Hill Homes is a large part of the community, it is not the entire community,” said Malika Brown. “It is a way for residents to build that step in generational wealth of homeownership as well as being just a part of the community.”
