Past Events

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.

The MBTA is one of the largest and oldest public transportation systems of the United States. Safety has been a concern in recent years. In August, the Federal Transit Administration released a 90-page report that unveils the dire conditions of MBTA operations, and the extent of needed repairs. Meanwhile, the Orange Line was recently shut down for 30 days, along with sections of the Green Line, and more shutdowns can be expected in the months and years ahead. What’s broken? Who is responsible? What are the short-, medium-, and long-term solutions? Join a conversation moderated by GBH Transportation reporter Bob Seay and Josh Ostroff, Transportation for Massachusetts Interim Director, with Monica Tibbits-Nutt, Executive Director of the 128 Business Council; Collique Williams, Organizer at Community Labor United;Transportation Committee Co-chair Senator Brendan Crighton; and Brian Kane, Executive Director of the MBTA Advisory Board. This program is presented in collaboration with the Transportation for Massachusetts coalition (T4MA).

The launch of Sputnik 1 in October 1957 marked the beginning of the space era and of the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union. In the 21st century, there are many more participants in space, including countries such as India and China, and commercial companies such as SpaceX. How will the United States fare in a crowded outer space? Join us for a discussion of this complex topic with Lori Garver, former Deputy Administrator of NASA.

One of the most abundant sources of renewable energy is the heat deep in the earth. This geothermal energy could provide clean heat and energy to whole cities, and in some parts of the world, such as Iceland, it does. But accessing this resource can be difficult. Dr. Woskov is developing a way to convert coal and gas electric power plants by drilling deep geothermal wells to replace the fossil fuels. He discusses the abundance of geothermal energy, the challenges of accessing it, and the geothermal project using a microwave-emitting mechanism called a gyrotron.

On July 4, 1779, French forces captured the British Caribbean colony of Grenada. They would occupy that island, as well as the neighboring islands of St. Vincent and Dominica, until the 1783 Treaty of Paris. This talk explores what the American Revolution meant to British colonial subjects in these lesser-studied parts of the Americas. Indigenous, enslaved, and free people seized the opportunity to ally with Great Britain’s chief rival, France, and many used this moment of disruption to seek freedom, sovereignty, or autonomy.

Taking Indigenous sovereignty seriously can help dismantle the structural racism encountered by other people of color in the United States. Natsu Taylor Saito's book, _Settler Colonialism, Race, and the Law: Why Structural Racism Persists,_ provides a timely analysis of structural racism at the intersection of law and colonialism. Noting the grim racial realities still confronting communities of color, and how they have not been alleviated by constitutional guarantees of equal protection, this book suggests that settler colonial theory provides a more coherent understanding of what causes and what can help remediate racial disparities. By providing a functional analysis that links disparate forms of oppression, this book makes the case for the oft-cited proposition that racial justice is indivisible, focusing particularly on the importance of acknowledging and contesting the continued colonization of Indigenous peoples and lands. ([Book review on Perlego](https://www.perlego.com/book/1364570/settler-colonialism-race-and-the-law-why-structural-racism-persists-pdf?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&campaignid=15825112969&adgroupid=132780871355&gclid=CjwKCAjw7eSZBhB8EiwA60kCW0AkGCT0O6l1i5HilKV1s8cLAXB0Tk20XaCYvSIRbVyrLPK_c7BYnRoCL5IQAvD_BwE) ) Cosponsored by the [Boston College Center for Human Rights and International Justice.

Historically one of the groups of voters who do not turn out are young people. This holds true across partisan, regional, religious and other differences. Our first discussion examines the reasons why there is low voter turnout and considers other forms of participation. How do Millenials and Gen Z’ers see their civic role in their communities? How are they reimagining and reshaping what it means to be involved and engaged? We take a deep dive to examine youth engagement in public affairs. Join the conversation with Milos Gringlas, Associatem Generation Citizen, Nancy Thomas, Director of the Institute for Democracy & Higher Education (IDHE) at Tufts University’s Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life, Mia Payne, Peer Facilitator at YVote and Syeeda Rahman, Suffolk University Political Science Student. The conversation will be moderated by Katie Lannan, GBH News State House reporter.

Art provides a powerful expression for resistance both in word and image, and Peter Sacks uses both to great effect in his latest works. Sacks, an expatriate of South Africa is currently presenting his first solo museum exhibition at the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University. “RESISTANCE” is a collection of 88 portraits of individuals who have resisted political, racial or cultural oppression over the past two centuries ranging from Frederick Douglass, Rachel Carson and Nelson Mandela to Emmeline Pankhurst, Sitting Bull and Volodymyr Zelensky. Sacks, who began as a poet and still teaches at Harvard University produced all the portraits in the past two years, a prolific output for someone who did not pick up a paintbrush until he was 48 years of age. Drawing from his anti-apartheid activism and multicultural experiences, Sacks creates an inspiring cast of writers, artists, philosophers and activists from around the world, who all resisted oppression in various ways. Each portrait consists of a face embedded in a tactile composition of fabric, paint, personal items and text. The exhibit is immersive; alongside the visuals, there is an audio collage of voices of numerous contemporary literary, social, political and cultural figures. “Many of these figures have inspired me over a lifetime, in ways at once intimate and public. Many of the portrayed individuals became each other’s powerful guides and sources of courage. I hope they will do the same for viewers and conjure a community among them.” Peter Sacks: Resistance pays tribute to generations of resisters using the power of art to transmit their legacies to future generations. This is a collaboration with the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis Museum. The Rose Art Museum exhibit runs until December 30, 2022 and admission is free.