Past Events

A nationally recognized expert on race relations, Zen Buddhist priest, and high-profile attorney who served on President Clinton’s One America Initiative Advisory Board, Angela E. Oh in conversation with Boston Public Library President David Leonard will reveal how communities in crisis can turn tragedy into opportunities for healing. An audience Q&A session will follow the discussion. Angela E. Oh came to prominence in 1992 after the civil unrest that followed the acquittal of four Los Angeles police officers charged with the beating of Rodney King. As a second generation Korean American born in Los Angeles, trained as a criminal defense lawyer, active in civil rights and civil liberties organizing, Oh found that her experiences gave insight into the causes of what was recorded as the worst civil disaster of the century. In speaking out, her clarity about the political, economic, social, and institutional failures that contributed to the implosion of 1992 resonated with communities across the region. Over 2000 small family owned businesses owned by ethnic Koreans were destroyed and Oh challenged the mainstream media narrative that the crisis in Los Angeles was due to Korean and African American conflict.

To celebrate its newly digitized collection of eminent historical black orators, Cambridge Forum, a long-established non-profit devoted to free public discussion, is hosting a live recording of BLACK HISTORY: ON REWIND with in-person speakers at the Lincoln Institute on March 21 at 5 pm. Starting in 1967, at the height of the Vietnam War and Civil Rights Movement, Cambridge Forum has been producing live events for 55 years from First Parish Church in Harvard Square, with the aim of providing a safe platform from which to examine salient, social issues. This event, BLACK HISTORY: ON REWIND offers a timely opportunity for past speakers Professors Randall Kennedy, Danielle Allen and Cheryl Townsend-Gilkes to return to the Forum and evaluate what progress they believe has been made in social justice and equality, to consider the importance of “who” writes the history and to highlight what outstanding issues remain to be addressed by Americans, as a democratic nation. Councilor Denise Simmons will make an introductory address and public TV producer, Roberto Mighty, will act as moderator. The program will be recorded and edited for Cambridge Forum’s weekly show on NPR, a podcast will be posted to the CF website, and WGBH Forum Network will upload the video to YouTube. According to CF Director Mary Stack, “In light of the disturbing events in Ukraine, it is more important than ever that Americans safeguard their democracy by protecting their freedom of speech, and by allowing respectful, meaningful discussion of potentially divisive issues. As Edmund Burke said, those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it.”

Thanks to the generous support of the Lowell Institute, BU School of Theology (STH) is able to host its bi-annual Lowell Lecture, which features a renowned speaker in a field related to theological studies. This semester, the school of theology welcomes Lee H. Butler, Jr., Ph.D. whose lecture is titled, "Stop Listening with Your Eyes: Transcending Stereotypes Wrapped in Color Consciousness." About the guest speaker: Lee H. Butler, Jr., Ph.D., is Vice-President of Academic Affairs and Academic Dean, and the William Tabbernee Professor of the History of Religions and Africana Pastoral Theology at Phillips Theological Seminary in Tulsa, OK. Prior to joining Phillips, he was the Distinguished Service Professor of Theology and Psychology at the Chicago Theological Seminary (CTS) for 24 years. In 2006, he was promoted to the rank of full professor and became the first African American to achieve this rank at CTS. He is the founder of the Center for the Study of Black Faith and Life at CTS. He is co-editor of The Edward Wimberly Reader: A Black Pastoral Theology (Baylor University Press, 2020), the author of Listen, My Son: Wisdom to Help African American Fathers (Abingdon Press, 2010), Liberating Our Dignity, Saving Our Souls (Chalice Press, 2006), A Loving Home: Caring for African American Marriage and Families (Pilgrim Press, 2000), and numerous articles. He is a Past-President of the Society for the Study of Black Religion, a member of the American Academy of Religion, the Society for Pastoral Theology, and the Association of Black Psychologists. An ordained minister of the American Baptist Churches/USA since 1988, he is a preacher-scholar-teacher of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He received his Bachelor of Arts from Bucknell University, Master of Divinity from Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Master of Theology from Princeton Theological Seminary, Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy from Drew University.

Philosopher and popular author Lee McIntyre discusses his latest book, **How to Talk to a Science Denier**. This is a must-read for people who confront denialism on the one hand, and misinformation/disinformation on the other. Dr. McIntyre provides examples of various types of denialism together with a strategy for dealing with this serious problem. In an era when scientific facts and scientific thinking are essential for saving civilization as well as our planet, we need a plan for dealing with denialism. This book might be the starting point.

Sociologist, author, and happiness expert, Dr. Carter in conversation with Boston Public Library President David Leonard will reveal how three surprising, science-based strategies can help us lead to our most joyful, productive, and meaningful lives. An audience Q&A session will follow the discussion. An engaging and sought-after speaker, Dr. Christine Carter loves to share her work. Combining scientific research and practical application, she offers audiences not only a way to cope with modern pressures, but tactics to truly thrive. Christine Carter, Ph.D., is author of The New Adolescence (2020), The Sweet Spot: How to Achieve More by Doing Less (2017) and Raising Happiness (2011). She regularly keynotes at large conferences and fundraisers and is a popular commencement speaker. She is a frequent contributor to executive, general-interest, and parenting programs with other leading scholars and teachers.

From charged school board meetings to shouting matches in Congress, on social media platforms and increasingly partisan media outlets, the level of incivility and outright hostility to anyone with views opposed to one’s own is alarming and unproductive. Real policy debates and compromise cannot be accomplished in an environment in which participants ascribe malign intent or even dehumanize others. Polarization in the United States has created both legislative stasis at the federal level and also widened the red state/blue state gulf, all contributing to a widespread lack of trust in democratic institutions by voters. How did we get here and how can we dial down the divisions? How will this impact our democracy? President Biden promised a return to civility in his Inaugural Address. Has he made any headway or is the situation only worsening? Join us to unpack these questions with former policymakers and experts in the field. The Washington Post's Arjun Singh moderates a panel discussion with former congressmen Scott Klug (R-WI) and Larry LaRocco (D-ID) as well as democracy scholar Dr. Jennifer McCoy.

American Ancestors/NEHGS is joined by The Boston Public Library in this American Inspiration author talk featuring bestselling author Linda Hirshman and moderator L’Merchie Frazier. In her latest work about social movements, the legal scholar, social historian, and best-selling author Linda Hirshman chronicles abolition – the social spirit, people, and political alliances that changed American history. The overturning of slavery was an astonishing historical achievement, a crucial landmark in moral progress. Chronicling its origins in the Second Great Awakening, Linda Hirshman shows how the movement was fraught with tensions from within. Yet it moved forward, driven by a powerful activist triumvirate: printer William Lloyd Garrison, who was a core creator of the movement; Frederick Douglass, the charismatic former slave whose eloquence roused the nation; and the lesser-known Maria Weston Chapman, a Boston socialite whose copious and largely unexplored correspondence Hirshman fully examines. Don’t miss learning more about these key players, their New England story, and the political movement that fueled the Republican Party and, ultimately, the Civil War.

Many people know at least one person suffering from Lyme’s disease, a quietly expanding tick-borne epidemic that has now spread throughout the United States into Canada. It is more than 40 years since the disease was first identified yet there is still no human vaccine available, despite the multiple vaccine options that you can purchase for your dog. So what happened to the vaccine that was developed in 1990s, and why was it so abruptly withdrawn from the market? Brian Owens, an award-winning science journalist for Nature, New Scientist and The Lancet, was commissioned to investigate the causes, treatments, and controversy surrounding this insidious but often overlooked disease and recently published his book, “Lyme Disease in Canada”. In it, Owens cites hope in a new French vaccine that is being developed in partnership with Pfizer for use in 2024. Joining him in this important discussion is Kris Newby, Stanford-educated science writer and senior producer of the Lyme disease documentary “Under the Skin”, whose book “Bitten” has won three international book awards. Find out what you should know about Lyme’s disease in advance of being bitten! The two authors are joined by Nevena Zubcevik, Chief Medical Officer at Invisible International.

Is there an alert system to notify us about the health of our democracy? In this episode we will examine the impact of partisan rancor not seen since the Civil War, declining trust in institutions, doubts about our election process, and the insurrection on January 6, 2021. There is emerging consensus that democracy in the United States is threatened. What can we do about it? Our panel will consider the health of our democracy and discuss solutions for restoring faith in our institutions and our democratic systems for everyone. This series builds upon Suffolk University’s historic mission of access, opportunity, and engagement with our alumni and the communities to which we belong. It’s sponsored by the Department of Political Science and Legal Studies in collaboration with the Ford Hall Forum, The Washington Center and GBH’s Forum Network.

In today’s globalized world which operates 24/7, it is hard to imagine life without the ubiquitous smartphone. But it wasn’t always so. The first iPhone was introduced in 2007, so even though there are 6 billion cell phone users today, millions of people were raised without cellphones or indeed any phone at all! This possibility is, of course, inconceivable to a Generation Z-er. There are undeniable benefits to owning a smart phone – navigating, contacting loved ones, organizing business, taking photos and recording music. A myriad of convenient functions all contained within one small digital rectangle! The smartphone did change the 20th Century, but it came at a cost. It brought with it, unique and perhaps unintended consequences into every sphere of our lives. Paul Greenberg quit his iPhone three years ago to research Goodbye Phone, Hello World after he realized that he had wasted one whole year of his life on the phone that could have been spent with his teenage son. Greenberg will talk about what he learned. Do you love or hate your phone? Could you live without it?