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American Ancestors

American Ancestors and New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) is America’s founding genealogical organization and the most respected name in family history. Established in 1845, they are the nation’s leading comprehensive resource for family history research and the largest Society of its kind in the world. The group provides family history services through their staff, original scholarship, data-rich website, educational opportunities and its research center to help family historians of all levels explore their past and understand their families’ unique place in history.

http://www.americanancestors.org

Margaret A. Burnham with By Hands Now Known

Mon, Feb 27, 2023

A paradigm-shifting investigation of Jim Crow–era violence from a renowned legal scholar, this “meticulously researched and carefully documented” historical work presents ”dozens of fully fleshed out stories…examples, of course, of countless stories left untold.” (Booklist) Many may recognize the names of civil rights activists—from Rosa Parks to Medgar Evers to Martin Luther King Jr.—but they likely have little sense of the quotidian violence of Jim Crow, the system of white supremacy that prevailed between the late nineteenth and mid-twentieth century. Now, the gap has been filled by author Margaret Burnham, Northeastern University School of Law’s Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project, and its archive of nearly one thousand cases of previously undocumented racial homicides between 1930 and 1955. Drawn from these archives and augmented by newspaper accounts, court testimony and rulings, coroner’s reports, and interviews with surviving witnesses, family, and clergy, _By Hands Now Known_ is essential reading. Those interested in race, history, and law will find it groundbreaking, illuminating, and moving. **Margaret A. Burnham** is the founding director of the Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project at Northeastern University and has been a staffer for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, a civil rights lawyer, a defense attorney, and a judge. A professor of law, she was nominated by President Biden and confirmed by the US Senate to serve on the Civil Rights Cold Case Records Review Board. **Moderator L’Merchie Frazier** is a visual activist, public historian and artist, innovator, and poet. She is Executive Director of Creative / Strategic PLANNING for SPOKE Arts and former Director of Education and Interpretation for the Museum of African American History, Boston/Nantucket, and was recently named an Art Commissioner for Massachusetts. Presented by the American Inspiration Series from American Ancestors/NEHGS, in partnership with Boston Public Library, Museum of African American History, and GBH Forum Network

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The Greatest Athlete in American History : Jim Thorpe or Bo Jackson?

Thu, Feb 23, 2023

Join us for a spirited debate between two celebrated journalists and bestselling authors: Who is the greatest athlete in American history: Jim Thorpe or Bo Jackson? Both made history on the field, and off. Votes will be counted! Some say that Jim Thorpe (1887-1953) was America’s greatest all-around athlete: a gold medalist at the 1912 Olympics in the decathlon and pentathlon; a star on the Carlisle Indian School’s football team and the first class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame; and a major league baseball player for John McGraw’s New York Giants. Other say Bo Jackson (b. 1962) tops the chart of all-time greats: the first person to simultaneously star in two major professional sports—and the only one to be named an All-Star in both baseball and football. Bo Jackson was a Heisman Trophy winner and a pop culture phenomenon. Despite their vast skills, both struggled against racism, both accomplished great things and reached stardom the American way: on the field of competition. Hear from two acclaimed writers, also super fans, about these remarkable athletes. Then cast your vote! Presented by the American Inspiration Series from American Ancestors/NEHGS in partnership with Boston Public Library and GBH Forum Network

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Half American - The Epic Story of African Americans Fighting WW II at Home and Abroad

Thu, Feb 2, 2023

Over one million Black men and women served in World War II. Black troops were at Normandy, Iwo Jima, and the Battle of the Bulge, serving in segregated units and performing vital support jobs. The stories of these Black veterans have long been ignored, as the myth of the “Good War” fought by the “Greatest Generation” has prevailed. Half American shares the experiences and impact of such heroes as Thurgood Marshall, the chief lawyer for the NAACP; Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., leader of the Tuskegee Airmen; Ella Baker, the civil rights leader who advocated on the home front for Black soldiers, veterans, and their families; James Thompson, who laid bare the hypocrisy of fighting against fascism abroad when racism still reigned at home; and poet Langston Hughes, who worked as a war correspondent for the Black press. Don’t miss Dr. Delmont’s meticulously researched retelling and learning more about these individuals’ bravery and patriotism in the face of racism.

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Paul Fisher with "The Grand Affair: John Singer Sargent in His World"

Mon, Dec 12, 2022

Presented by the American Inspiration Series from American Ancestors/NEHGS and Boston Public Library, in partnership with GBH Forum Network, a groundbreaking new biography of the celebrated painter John Singer Sargent and a page-turning exploration of an epochal time in art history, and in America. John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) is a great American artist who lived among and painted the opinion-leaders and society kingpins of his day. He is also an abiding mystery. Sargent scandalized viewers on both sides of the Atlantic with the frankness and sensuality of his work. He charmed his wealthy patrons, but reserved his greatest sympathies for Bedouins, Spanish dancers, and the gondoliers of Venice. At the height of his renown in Britain and America, Sargent quit his lucrative portrait-painting career. In _The Grand Affair_, the scholar Paul Fisher offers a vivid portrait of the buttoned-up artist and his unbuttoned work, following his trans-European childhood to his spirited travels as an adult to his late-life journeys with his friend and patron Isabella Stewart Gardner. Fisher’s illustrated talk and discussion provides insight into on Sargent’s extensive work at the Boston Public Library, the mural cycle “The Triumph of Religion.” This talk is modoerated by Meghan Weeks, an artist and cultural heritage professional with an academic background in historical structures, painting, and curating.

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Stacy Schiff discusses The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams

Tue, Nov 29, 2022

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author will share her revelatory biography of Samuel Adams. In her distinctive voice, which has brought to life Benjamin Franklin, Cleopatra, and The Witches of Salem, Stacy Schiff restores this revolutionary to the pantheon of the most critical Founding Fathers on the 300th anniversary of his birth. Thomas Jefferson once asserted that if there was any leader of the Revolution, “Samuel Adams was the man.” His cousin John Adams said that without him “the true history of the American Revolution could not be written.” Now Stacy Schiff, one of the few and most prominent women writing American history, reveals how Adams rose to become one of the most successful revolutionaries of all time. Don’t miss her illustrated presentation and discussion with Ryan J. Woods about the dazzling life of this American original. Presented by the American Inspiration Series of American Ancestors/NEHGS in partnership with the Massachusetts Historical Society (MHS), Porter Square Books, and GBH Forum Network.

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Kerri K. Greenidge with The Grimkes: The Legacy of Slavery in an American Family

Mon, Nov 14, 2022

A landmark biography of the most important multiracial American family of the nineteenth century--a stunning counternarrative of the legendary abolitionist Grimke sisters that reclaims the forgotten Black members of their family. Sarah and Angelina Grimke are revered figures in American history, famous for rejecting their privileged lives on a plantation in South Carolina to become firebrand activists in the North. Their antislavery pamphlets are still read today; yet retellings of their epic story have long obscured their Black relatives. In The Grimkes, award-winning historian Kerri Greenidge reclaims the lost side of this famous family. This grand saga spans the eighteenth century to the twentieth and stretches from Charleston to Philadelphia, Boston, and beyond, revealing the short-comings and injustices perpetuated by the white Grimkes and exposing the limits of progressive white racial politics. Just as the Hemingses and Jeffersons personified the racial myths of the founding generation, the Grimkes embodied the legacy of those myths. Kerri K. Greenidge is a historian at Tufts University and the author of Black Radical: The Life and Times of William Monroe Trotter, winner of the 2020 Mark Lynton History Prize, among other honors. Moderator Kellie Carter Jackson is the Michael and Denise Kellen 68’ Associate Professor in the Department of Africana Studies at Wellesley College. She is the author of the award-winning book Force & Freedom: Black Abolitionists and Historian-in-Residence at Boston’s Museum of African American History.

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The History of Clothing: Two Authors Discuss Style and Substance

Thu, Sep 29, 2022

Through time, clothing has defined us: everyday garments have transformed our lives, our societies, and our planet; our fancier dress and new fashions have conveyed meaning and conferred status. Now, two new captivating social histories convey the essence and aspiration of our clothing, past and present. Worn provides a sweeping history of garments and the stuff they are of made – Linen, Cotton, Silk, Synthetics, Wool. Skirts traces the shifting roles of women over the twentieth century through the era’s most iconic and influential dresses. If ever you’ve wondered about the origins of Little Black Dress or the ancestral and ethical methods for making what we wear, you will enjoy hearing from authors Sofi Thanhauser and Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell, their illustrated presentations and dialogue with fashion and textiles curator Petra Slinkard. Dr. Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell is an award-winning fashion historian and curator. She is the author of Fashion Victims: Dress at the Court of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette; Worn on This Day: The Clothes That Made History; The Way We Wed; and Red, White, and Blue on the Runway. Her writing has appeared in, among other publications, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Politico; and she has appeared on NPR and the Biography Channel. Sofi Thanhauser teaches in the writing department at Pratt Institute. She has received fellowships from the Fulbright Program, MacDowell, and Ucross Foundation. Her writing has appeared in Vox. Her writing has appeared in Vox, The Guardian, and other publications. Petra Slinkard is the Director of Curatorial Affairs and The Nancy B. Putnam Curator of Fashion and Textiles at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA. She oversees the museum’s Fashion and Design gallery and most recently served as the coordinating curator for the exhibition Patrick Kelly: Runway of Love, which opened June 25, 2022.

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Mark Clague with O Say Can You Hear? A Cultural Biography of "The Star-Spangled Banner"

Mon, Sep 12, 2022

In this fascinating history of our national anthem, you’ll learn how and why one everyday “broadside ballad” that captured the events and emotions of early American life rose to become America’s one and only anthem. Most Americans learn the tale in elementary school: how Francis Scott Key was inspired to pen his famous lyric as he saw the Stars and Stripes flying proudly over Baltimore’s Fort McHenry following the daylong bombardment of British navy ships during the War of 1812. The anthem’s use in sports, at times of war, and for political protest, have imbued it with further meaning, says historian Mark Clague. The anthem reflects—and is reflected by—the nation’s quest to become a more perfect union. From victory song to hymn of sacrifice and vehicle for protest, the story of Key’s song is the story of America itself. Don’t miss this enlightening presentation and discussion about our beloved anthem, and about America from 1814 to the present. ### Resources [Mark Clague's Anthem History Website](https://starspangledmusic.org/) [Link to more about Kristina Gaddy's __Well of Souls__](https://www.kristinagaddy.com/wellofsouls)

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Women in the Gilded Age: Two Authors’ Insights

Thu, Jul 7, 2022

Even in an era of extravagance – wealth, glamour, and greed – some women stand out by virtue of their family, their treasure, or their talent. Join us for a presentation by two authors whose celebrated works reveal the lives of women in the Gilded Age. It was the era in which many wealthy Americans were married off to foreign aristocrats: the beautiful heiress Consuelo Vanderbilt joined in a loveless marriage to become the savior and head of Blenheim Palace, outside London. Mrs. Frank Leslie, head of lucrative publishing empire, was as impactful in her time as the Rockefellers and Carnegies, yet her story of success and scandal has been forgotten--until now. Don’t miss hearing from authors Laura Thompson and Betsy Prioleau and moderator Esther Crain about the women who glittered most brightly in Gilded Age--their experiences as daughters, wives, trend-setters, and entrepreneurs.

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Annette Gordon-Reed with "On Juneteenth"

Mon, Jun 20, 2022

For this Pulitzer and National Book Award-winning historian, also a proud Texas native and descendant of Texas slaves, the story of Juneteenth has special resonance. "On Juneteenth" presents the saga of a frontier defined as much by the slave plantation owner as the mythic cowboy, rancher, or oilman. Celebrated for her research and revelations in her prize-winning book "The Hemingses of Monticello", Annette Gordon-Reed now tells a tale closer to home. The Texas native combines her own scholarship with a personal and intimate reflection of an overlooked holiday that has suddenly taken on new significance. In "On Juneteenth" she writes, “it is staggering that there is no date commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.” Yet Texas, the last state to free its slaves, has long acknowledged the date of June 19, 1865, when US Major General Gordon Granger proclaimed from his Galveston headquarters that slavery was no longer the law of the land. Don’t miss Gordon-Reed’s discussion with Lisa Baldez about her research process, her childhood in Texas, and the circuitous path to national recognition of the Juneteenth holiday. Annette Gordon-Reed is the Carl M. Loeb University Professor at Harvard University. Author of the Pulitzer Prize–winning "The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family", she lives in New York and in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Lisa Baldez is Professor of Government at Dartmouth College. Her research and published works examine the prospects for finding common ground between left-wing and right-wing women in the U.S. and around the world. This event is presented in the American Inspiration Author Series in partnership with the Boston Public Library, the State Library of Massachusetts, and GBH Forum Network.

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