Past Events

Author Gretchen Sorin and Kinshasha Holman Conwill, Deputy Director of the The National Museum of African American History and Culture discuss Sorin's new book and upcoming PBS documentary by Ric Burns, "Driving While Black: African American Travel and the Road to Civil Rights." Learn how the automobile fundamentally changed African American life. Through much of our country’s history, mobility has been limited for African Americans: first, by slavery; then, in the 20th Century, by the racism of some whites who denied their black countrymen the right to travel freely on trains and buses. Driving While Black reveals how the car—the ultimate symbol of independence and possibility—allowed black families to evade the many dangers presented by an entrenched racist society. Interweaving stories of her own family history, Gretchen Sorin opens up an entirely new view onto one of the most important issues of our time. Gretchen Sorin is distinguished professor and director of the Cooperstown Graduate Program of the State University of New York. This event is presented by American Ancestors/NEHGS, Boston Public Library and the Museum of African American History as part of the American Stories, Inspiration Today author series.

Dr. Madin provides an expert’s understanding of jellyfish –those maligned creatures that are such a nuisance to those who flock to ocean beaches. Recent reports about the huge lion’s mane jellyfish has raised interest in the great diversity of marine ”floaters.” Dr. Madin also discusses marine robots that are so important to this type of research. Image: Belmont Media Center

The Museum of African American History in Boston hosts film director Marlon Johnson in discussion with Ed White, founder of River City Drum Corps, as well as Albert Shumake, the drum corps’ Director. Michon Boston leads the three men in discussion of River City Drumbeat, a new documentary about the drum corps established by White with Zambia Nkrumah in Louisville, Kentucky three decades ago. “River City Drumbeat”​ was produced by Owsley Brown​is and is a multigenerational story of music, love, and legacies set in the American South. Edward “Nardie” White devoted his life to leading the African-American drum corps with Zambia Nkrumah. Together they inspired youth from their West Louisville neighborhood to thrive by connecting them with the art and cultural traditions of their African ancestors. Now Albert Shumake, whose destiny was shaped by the drumline, must take up the mantle for the next generation. Review ["‘River City Drumbeat’ Review: A Community’s Pulse Proves Strong"](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/06/movies/river-city-drumbeat-review.html) by Teo Bugbee for the _New York Times_

The pandemic has raised anew issues in which policy makers must address several key tensions: privacy, individual rights and the public’s right to know; individual freedom versus quarantine; and who is liable when coronavirus is contracted. At a time when we are discussing freedom and individual rights, the protests over the killing of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and countless others have raised concerns about America’s “other pandemic” — the long history of racism, discrimination, and the denial of basic rights and freedoms to minorities living in the United States. Join Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins and labor attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan for this convsersation moderated by Renée M. Landers, a professor of law at Suffolk University. Follow Along with the Suffolk University Survey Course Listening assignment Imagining the New 9-5 | Teresa Ghilarducci https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Reading assignment MassLive [Black staffers on Beacon Hill say Massachusetts Legislature’s commitment to combating racism ‘has yet to be realized' ](https://www.masslive.com/politics/2020/07/black-staffers-on-beacon-hill-say-legislatures-commitment-to-combating-racism-has-yet-to-be-realized.html) Civic Engagement Activity & Reflection Students will be required to engage in at least one civic / political engagement event of their choice during the course of the term and document this with a short reflection essay. The type of event you attend remotely is up to you. It can be a virtual town or city hall meeting with local or state representatives, a meeting of an activist group, etc. The reflection must draw on readings from the class and your own additional research. Members of the public who wish to share their reflections should post a link on Twitter and tag @ForumNetwork and @supolscilegal.

Massachusetts candidates for U.S. Senate, Joe Kennedy and Ed Markey, participate in consecutive public forums to answer questions from formerly incarcerated people. They share their perspectives on proposed changes to the U.S. justice system. The evening’s moderator is nationally recognized activist Andrea James, founder of Families for Justice as Healing. This forum is presented by Ford Hall Forum, the nation’s oldest continuously operating free public lecture series, in partnership with the following organizations: The National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls Black & Pink Boston Citizens for Juvenile Justice the Young Professionals Network of the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute For Race & Justice Sisters Unchained Families for Justice As Healing Disability Action Massachusetts Against Solitary Confinement

Dr. Zoeller has been a leader among researchers emphasizing the need for much stronger regulation of endocrine disruptors. He discusses the chemistry of prenatal and infant brain development and the ways in which endocrine disruptors –even in very low dosage– impact the hormones involved in development. He also addresses the tension between federal regulators and the scientific community on this issue. Image: pixabay.com

In light of the recent wave of Black Lives Matter protests, there are distressing concerns that facial recognition software is being used to target and catalogue people engaging in protected speech and assembly. Given the chilling effect it poses on civil liberties and its propensity for error — from misidentifying to wrongfully convicting individuals — major cities like Boston and San Francisco have banned its use by law enforcement. The discussion will navigate how community organizers are fighting back against the unprecedented use of surveillance tools that disproportionately exhibit racial and gender bias and how the movement for racial justice means banning facial recognition. Drawing on the remarkable work of Ben Ewen-Campen, Chris Gilliard and Emily Dreyfuss, series host Joan Donovan asks: what is the potential human cost of widespread facial recognition technology? What prompted Amazon’s moratorium on selling its controversial Rekognition platform to law enforcement and what are the consequences? Have the successful bans in Boston and San Francisco sparked enough momentum for a nationwide ban? And crucially, is facial recognition so widespread now that it’s even possible to effectively ban it? Photo: "Facial Recognition Art Mural," Hollywood CA by [Yowhathappenedtopeace/Flickr](https://www.flickr.com/photos/yowhathappenedtopeace/15861645255)

Erika Spanger-Siegfried, climate analyst for Union of Concerned Scientists, provides an update on the growing threat of rising seas to coastal cities and smaller communities. She discusses the need to prepare for coastal communities to prepare for more frequent coastal flooding. Image credit: [Pexels](http://https://www.pexels.com/photo/big-waves-under-cloudy-sky-753619/)

Times of crisis require governments to cooperate and coordinate large-scale responses. Yet Congress and the President are inherently partisan actors in a federal system — negotiating the competing pressures of obtaining concrete results for constituents, but not being seen as too accommodating of political rivals. What are the main political takeaways from legislating in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic? How have motives of major actors shifted or changed and how has this impacted the federal response? Does President Trump still dominate the GOP? Also, what electoral outcomes might we see in November, given what current polling, favorability ratings and climbing COVID cases and deaths tell us? ***Follow Along with the Suffolk University Survey Course*** Listening assignment How federal job vacancies hinder the government’s response to COVID-19 from Brookings Institution. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/events- from-the-brookings-institution/id1164631872?i=1000473551731 Readings New survey shows U.S. public is ‘firmly opposed’ to reopening the economy immediately https://shorensteincenter.org/new-survey-shows-u-s-public-is-firmly-opposed-to-reopening-the-economy-immediately/ Scan The Council on Foreign Relations Coronavirus Website: https://www.cfr.org/coronavirus. Sign up for 360 Dx Daily News weekly coronavirus newsletter: https://www.360dx.com/ Civic Engagement Activity & Reflection Students are required to engage in at least one civic / political engagement event of their choice during the course of the term and document this with a short reflection essay. The type of event you attend remotely is up to you. It can be a virtual town or city hall meeting with local or state representatives, a meeting of an activist group, etc. The reflection must draw on readings from the class and your own additional research. Members of the public who wish to share their reflections should post a link on Twitter and tag @GBHForumNetwork and @supolscilegal. This Suffolk University lecture series, presented with the Ford Hall Forum and WGBH Forum Network, is designed as a broad examination of the themes of interest to political scientists and public policy experts. The series is part of a novel online course offered to incoming Suffolk students and made available to the public.

Like it or not, we live in a global era, and we need to better understand it, both its promise and its threats, in order to make informed choices. To help readers do just that, Dr. Richard Haass has written a new book titled "The World," in which he focuses on essential history, what makes each region of the world tick, the many challenges globalization presents, and the most influential countries, events, and ideas. Dr. Richard Haass has headed the Council on Foreign Relations since 2003. Prior to that he served as the senior Middle East Advisor to President H. W. Bush and as the director of the Policy Planning Staff at the State Department under Colin Powell.