Past Events

It's been more than a year since Russia launched its devastating invasion of Ukraine. The conflict has challenged the world order and fueled geopolitical and economic uncertainty around the world. We examine the U.S. role in the War in Ukraine, providing more than $30 billion in military aid since the conflict began, but stopping short of deploying American forces. Panel of experts discusses how to continue to support Ukraine without inching closer to a direct U.S.-Russian confrontation and if we are at risk of World War III. Photo credit : Envato

> “A masterpiece! I have not read anything as moving, imaginative and informative about my great-great-grandparents since I first heard our family story from my mother when I was a child in the 1940's. When I finished the book, I felt uplifted and quite emotional, as if I had indeed shared not only their life-long freedom journey but had also borne personal witness to the tumultuous period in history through which they had not only lived, but had survived.” – Peggy Trotter Dammond Preacely, poet, activist, Freedom Rider, and great-great-granddaughter of Ellen and William Craft Embark on one of the boldest feats of self-emancipation in American history, the journey to freedom of Ellen and William Craft, told by author Ilyon Woo in her latest book, Master Slave Husband Wife, at Belmont Books on Wednesday, May 17 at 7 pm. 2023 is the 175th anniversary of the Crafts’ escape from slavery in Georgia in December 1848: one month later, they would arrive in Boston. Sustained by their love as husband and wife, the Crafts posed as master and slave, with Ellen Craft—the daughter of her first enslaver—passing as wealthy, disabled white man traveling with his enslaved valet. Long past the 1,000 miles they originally traveled to the North, the Crafts were required to flee several thousands miles more to England, in order to truly be free. Ilyon Woo brings the Crafts to life in her vivid narration of their adventures, with meticulous research and stunningly gorgeous writing. Basing her story upon the Crafts’ published narrative of their escape from Georgia, she turned to other sources—letters, deeds, travelogues, newspapers, diaries, paintings, and more—to tell parts of the story the Crafts never wrote about, including their crisis in Boston and their celebrity as abolitionist speakers, both in America and abroad. Ilyon Woo is the author of The Great Divorce : A Nineteenth-Century Mother’s Extraordinary Fight Against Her Husband, the Shakers and Her Times. Her articles have appeared in publications such as The Boston Globe and The Wall Street Journal, and she has received support for her research from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Ilyon Woo is in conversation with Christian Walkes, Associate Director of Education and Interpretation Museum of African American History — Boston | Nantucket to know more about this outstanding journey. This talk is presented by Belmont Books, The Museum of African American History and GBH Forum Network.

Drs. Huber and Orcutt explain the vital role of marine microbial ecosystems as the foundation for all other ocean life. They lead some of the most important research on this intricate marine relationship. Problematic technologies such as deep-sea mining and ocean carbon sequestration will create serious disruptions on these ecosystems, and the impact will inevitably extend to many other lifeforms in the marine universe. Image:WHOI

What was Cambridge like back when it was called Newtowne and even before that? A new history book, ostensibly for kids, aims to paint a more multi-dimensional view of the area charting its cultural influences and history starting back 10,000 years ago, when indigenous people farmed, fished and built communities there. The Massachusett tribe were the first documented humans known to have lived on this land. Art Historian **Suzanne Preston Blier**, Harvard Professor of Fine Arts and of African and African American Studies has just published “_The Streets of Newtowne: A Story of Cambridge, MA._” Blier, a Cambridge civic activist, serves as President of the Harvard Square Neighborhood Association, a group she helped to found in 2017. Joining her to help amplify our understanding of Newtowne’s diverse past are **Nicola Williams**, President of The Williams Agency, located in an historic building on Story Street. Once a boarding house run by former slave Harriet Jacobs, who self-published her book, “_Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl_” Jacobs went on to become an abolitionist, activist and suffragette. Williams serves on the board of the Sustainable Business Network of Boston. Also **Sage Carbone**, Community Programs Director for the Fenway Community Development Corporation. Sage is a descendant of the Massachusett tribe and a resident of Cambridge, where she is active in the collective Cambridge City Growers which distributes thousands of seedlings to urban gardeners. Augmenting the historical discussion will be **Daniel Berger-Jones**, in the guise of Ralph Waldo Emerson, who delivered his famous “American Scholar” address in the church in 1837. This speech was referred to as America's "Intellectual Declaration of Independence” by Oliver Wendell Holmes. Turn up in person or sign up now to register for the event. ### Resources [ Winthrop Park – Cambridge’s first Puritan settlement and the first Planned City in North America is under the care of the Winthrop Park Trust: ](https://www.winthropparktrust.org/) [The Vassal-Craigie-Longfellow House on Brattle Street (National Park Service)](https://www.nps.gov/long/index.htm) [Ned Blackhawk’s new book “The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of US History”](https://www.portersquarebooks.com/book/9780300244052) [Link to Cambridge Day article on MIT and Indigenous People genocide ](https://www.cambridgeday.com/2023/05/08/an-indigenous-look-into-mit/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=an-indigenous-look-into-mit) Impage copyright: Envato

Environmental justice warrior, Rhodes Scholar, and founder of Black Girl Environmentalist Wanjiku "Wawa" Gatheru converses with Boston Public Library President David Leonard as part of the Boston Public Library 2023 Lowell Lecture Series You are Here: Climate Change and What’s Next. For Wanjiku "Wawa" Gatheru, caring about the environment started early. While farming with her mom and grandmother as a child, the conversations would often turn to saving the earth. The first-generation American of Kenyan descent became even more invested when taking an environmental science class in high school, when she learned that social justice and climate issues were deeply intertwined. Everything suddenly became personal. “It was in this call I learned that the environment had everything to do with me,” she says.

The AIEX project at the Applied Ethics Center at UMass-Boston investigates our interactions with AI, especially our tendency to imagine that technologies such as chatbots have human-like awareness. Although projecting consciousness on non-sentient objects is an ancient human tendency, AI introduces worrisome complications. Dr. Eisikovits discusses the psychological effect of communicating with sophisticated AI technologies, and explains why we need guardrails to protect against both manipulation and misinformation.

The dramatic story of W. E. B. Du Bois's reckoning with the betrayal of Black soldiers during World War I—and a new understanding of that era and of one of the great twentieth-century writers. When W. E. B. Du Bois, believing in the possibility of full citizenship and democratic change, encouraged African Americans to “close ranks” and support the Allied cause in World War I, he made a decision that would haunt him for the rest of his life. For more than two decades Du Bois attempted to write the definitive history of Black participation in World War I. His book, however, remained unfinished. Drawing on a broad range of sources, most notably Du Bois’s unpublished manuscript and research materials, Williams tells the surprising story of this unpublished book, bringing new insight into Du Bois’s struggles to reckon with both the history and the troubling memory of the war. The Wounded World offers a fresh understanding of the life and mind of arguably the most significant scholar-activist in African American history. Presented by the American Inspiration Series from American Ancestors/NEHGS in partnership with Boston Public Library and GBH Forum Network.

Join Mayor Michelle Wu and other women leaders for an MWPC and GBH sponsored discussion about DEI in government and education, and the private sector. Chief Secretary April English, Mayor Michelle Wu, Town Administrator Lisa Wong, BPS Superintendent Mary Skipper, and The Partnership COO Carmen Arce-Bowen will join us for conversations moderated by Yemisi Oloruntola-Coates and Meg Woolhouse.

Why is it that historic figures such as Samuel Adams, James Otis, and John Hancock are remembered as heroes, yet Metacom—the Wampanoag leader whom the English called King Philip—is virtually unknown? The year 2025 will mark the 350th anniversary of the devastating and bloody conflict between New England colonists and Indigenous people that is most commonly known to history as King Philip’s War. However, very little is known about his campaign to end English mistreatment and his fight for independence and property rights for his people. Throughout the 1830s, Willam Apess, a Pequot minister and activist, continued fighting for Indian rights. Revolutionary Spaces is proud to celebrate the legacy of both Apess and Metacom at A Community Reading of William Apess’s Eulogy on King Philip (Metacom), where we commemorate the ideals for which they fought—ideals that were not so different from those that Americans fought for in 1775.

This talk is produced in partnership with the Institute for New England Native American Studies (INENAS) at the University of Massachusetts Boston and the Northeastern Humanities Center.

Moderating is J. Cedric Woods (Lumbee), Director of INENAS. Drew Lopenzina, Professor of Early American and Native American Literature at Old Dominion University, provides historical context for the eulogy and the 19th-century events that informed Apess’s writing. Guest speakers then read excerpts from the eulogy followed by a brief panel discussion to critically address the history of Native American conversion to Christianity, the significance of King Philip’s War, and the importance of Apess’s eulogy.

Schuyler Bailar (he/him) was the first openly transgender D1 NCAA athlete. Since graduating from Harvard University in 2019, Schuyler has become an internationally celebrated inspirational speaker, author, and advocate for trans inclusion, radical body acceptance, and mental health awareness. He is also recognized as a top social media LGBTQ+ educator and advocate. In his talk, Schuyler shares his personal journey and discusses some of the recent legislation affecting trans rights. He also speaks about the importance of trans inclusion and strategies for taking action. Following a moderated conversation, Schuyler engages with members of the Suffolk community in an audience Q&A moderated by Bobbi Van Gilder, PhD, assistant professor, Communication, Journalism, & Media Department, Suffolk University. Photocredit : Envato