Past Events

Dr. Susan B. Roberts is well known for her research on the relationship between nutrition and cognitive development. She is currently expanding that work to evaluate how nutrition affects the aging brain. in this discussion she explains the brain-nutrition relationship in general, and how these two studies underscore the need to provide a healthy diet for all ages. She is particularly interested in how specific dietary adjustments improve child cognitive development and, for the aging, prevent cognitive decline.

The Boston University School of Theology is proud to present the bi-annual Lowell Lecture, which features a renowned speaker in a field related to theological studies. This year, topics explore the spiritual dimension of artistic expression. Our first speaker Rev. Dr. Emmett G. Price III, lecture is entitled What does sacred sound like… and how do we learn to hear it in the voices of Black disinherited creatives? This lecture will explore the brilliant resilience and demonstrative hope of Black folk through the lens of two exceptional spiritual beings: Nina Simone and John Coltrane. Rarely touted as theologians and even rarer, as Christians, these two serve as exemplars of far too many Black creatives endowed with spiritual wisdom yet treated as disinherited.

Gen-Z’s civic engagement is loud, visible on the streets and viral on social media. They are engaged, worried about big issues and increasingly discontent with incremental or no progress in addressing them. The question is whether this energy will translate into votes? How do advocacy groups and political parties recruit young people? Some use aggressive tactics and build on anger. Some tap into passion for an issue or partisan identity. Others stay above the fray and appeal to a sense of civic responsibility and extol the power of voting. Who’s listening to all these different messages and why? No matter the rate at which young people turn out to the polls, they will play a pivotal role in the outcome of the 2022 midterms. Join our panelists as we discuss the methods being used to engage young people and harness their power, while at the same time fostering a healthy civic culture.

There have been many changes in the 330 years since the Salem Witch Trial. Author and witch scholar Marilynne Roach, Bobbi Van Gilder, Ph.D, Assistant Professor, Suffolk University, and Playwrights Michael Cormier & Myriam Cyr, look at how the justice system failed the accused women in Salem. They discuss how a justice system, created by men, has treated women throughout our history and how gender continues to impact the rights of women in America. Note, This talk followed a dramatic reading of the new play, Saltonstall’s Trial: The Untold Story of the Salem Witch Trials. Photo credit: Pexels.com

For a recent graduate Greater Boston – which routinely ranks among the most expensive areas of the United States for housing – can seem a daunting place to lay down roots and launch a career. In significant part this is because the region does not build enough housing to meet demand, pushing costs upward. Communities around Boston make it incredibly difficult to build apartments and other less-expensive housing options. Much of the land in these communities is restricted to single-family homes, often on very large lots. These practices contribute to high housing costs, residential segregation, significant inequities in access to quality education, and residential construction that is often far from public transportation, exacerbating negative environmental effects. Why is this the case? How can it be changed? And what role can graduate students and young professionals play in advocating for such change both locally and at the state level? Join Abundant Housing Massachusetts and Suffolk University Law School for a panel featuring national experts on housing, zoning, and local government. Professor Vicki Been of New York University School of Law previously served as Deputy Mayor of Housing and Economic Development for the City of New York and will speak on possibilities for reform at the city and state level. Professor Anika Singh Lemar leads the Community and Economic Development clinic at Yale Law School and will discuss her work with affordable housing developers to bring needed housing to communities throughout Connecticut. Maxwell Palmer, a Professor of Political Science at Boston University, will discuss his groundbreaking research examining who participates in local land use decision making and how homeowners entrench their own interests by opposing new housing. Jenny Schuetz is a Senior Fellow at Brookings Metro. An expert in urban economics and housing policy, she will discuss how statewide zoning reform could improve housing affordability and more.

The African Atlantic history of smallpox inoculation is a rich, yet oft-overlooked story. This lecture contextualizes the more familiar history of Onesimus and Cotton Mather in early eighteenth-century Boston within the broader history of Africans performing smallpox inoculations in West Africa, Jamaica, and Saint Domingue (Haiti) in the Revolutionary Era of the late eighteenth century.

Droughts and flash floods are becoming a new normal in our warming world. What changed ? Our landscapes are losing water as people alter the environment, cut trees, drain wetlands, and use chemicals that destroy the soil. And we’re feeling the heat. By learning from nature we can improve the climate where we live. We can learn from plants and trees which provide air conditioning for the Earth. They help drive the water cycle, tame damaging wind and rain storms and even address giant heat islands over the Midwest and forest fires. Climate scientists Anastassia Makarieva and Andrei Nefiodov (Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute) and botanist Jan Pokorny (co-author of the New Water Paradigm) will discuss these issues and answer audience questions on October 21 at 12:15 pm ET. Hart Hagan, regenerative podcaster, will be the Moderator. Anastassia Makarieva, Andrei Nefiodov and Jan Pokorny are instrumental in advocating for land management policy changes. Ms. Makarieva is a senior analyst at Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute and a fellow at the Technical University of Munich. Her work co-developing the Biotic Pump theory of atmospheric moisture transfer is of singular importance. Jan Pokorný is a leading researcher on solar energy conversion and photosynthesis, founder of Enki NGO, and co-author of the book New Water Paradigm. They have both published numerous papers in peer-reviewed publications. This event is co-hosted by Biodiversity for a Livable Climate and GBH Forum Network. Voices of Water for Climate, a program of Biodiversity for a Livable Climate, co-organized the event. ### Resources [ERASMUS project Education for Plant Literacy](https://planteducation.eu/) [Biotic Regulation](https://bioticregulation.ru) [Home page for Voices of water at Biodiversity for a livable climate ](https://bio4climate.org/voices-of-water/) Photo credit: Dan Meyers, Unsplash

What brings young people to the streets, engage in advocacy, and go to the voting booth? Despite widespread disillusionment with “establishment politics” and skepticism about the power to make change, increasing numbers of young organizers and activists are making their voices heard. Some tactics are familiar to traditional campaigns, but some tactics are innovative and fresh. We’ll sit down with some of these young leaders to hear their stories about what motivates them to action and explore some of the tactics and strategies they are branding with their unique generational stamp. Join us!

Nearly every day, we see evidence further confirming that we are facing a mental health crisis, especially among our youth. American society is beset by mass shootings and other acts of violence, which serve to exacerbate the large-scale trauma already inflicted by the pandemic. Only this week, the media highlighted the urgent issue confronting Generation Z’ers, who lack the funds to pay for medications or mental health therapy. Inadvertently, it seems, we are fueling rather than defusing the problem. Fortunately, there is affordable hope on the horizon. EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing) was discovered in 1987 by psychologist, Francine Shapiro who found a novel method for aligning people’s “thinking brains” with their “emotional brains”, to help process traumatic events. Since then, it has been providing hope and healing to countless sufferers of PTSD and other emotional and stress-related problems; these include depression, chronic pain, anxiety, phobias, substance abuse and addictions. Studies demonstrate EMDR’s clinical effectiveness in dealing with trauma in a limited number of sessions and it is rated the most cost-effective treatment among the top 11 trauma therapies. With Deborah Korn, PsyD, an internationally renowned expert in EMDR and Michael Baldwin, co-author of the book with Deborah Korn : Every Memory Deserves Respect", also branding and communication professional in New York. ### Resources [What's EMDR](https://www.emdr.com/what-is-emdr/) [Video from the International Association](youtu.be/Pkfln-ZtWeY) [Dutch video explaining working Memory Hypothesis](youtu.be/hKrfH43srg8) [Research Overview](https://www.emdr.com/research-overview/)

Author of New York Times (NYT) Bestseller White Fragility joins Boston Public Library President for fireside-style chat. In this talk, Robin DiAngelo explains how racism is at play in white people and how to bring awareness on our condition, own racism to make change and stop living a segregated life. ### About Nice Racism: How Progressive White People Perpetuate Racial Harm Based on her second NYT Bestselling book, Dr. DiAngelo identifies many common white racial patterns and breaks down how well-intentioned white people unawarely perpetuate racial harm. These patterns include rushing to prove that we are “not racist,” downplaying white advantage, romanticizing Black, Indigenous and other peoples of color (BIPOC), pretending white segregation “just happens,” expecting BIPOC people to teach us about racism, carefulness, guilt and shame. She offers a series of reflection questions, an assessment tool, and a list of the skills and perspectives that can counter “nice” racism. ### About White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard For White People To Talk About Racism White people in the U.S. live in a racially insular social environment. This insulation builds our expectations for racial comfort while at the same time lowering our stamina for enduring racial stress. I term this lack of racial stamina “White Fragility.” White Fragility is a state in which even a minimal challenge to the white position becomes intolerable, triggering a range of defensive moves including: argumentation, invalidation, silence, withdrawal and claims of being attacked and misunderstood.