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Free online lectures: Explore a world of ideas

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Revolutionary Spaces

**Revolutionary Spaces ** connects people to the history and continuing practice of democracy through the intertwined stories of two of the nation’s most iconic sites—Boston’s Old South Meeting House and Old State House. We foster a free and open exchange of ideas, explore history, create gathering places, and preserve and steward historic buildings.

https://www.bostonhistory.org

  • Glenn C. Loury of Boston University and Melissa Nobles of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology debate the pros and cons of slavery reparations. How do you put a price on 300 years of injustice? The legacy of slavery in the United States continues to shape life and society for all Americans. The controversial arguments surrounding slavery reparations is proof that this country is still struggling with how to address and overcome the repercussions of slavery. Does this country owe a financial debt to the descendants of black slaves? Who should pay and receive reparations? How much is owed? Instead of repairing damage, might such payments polarize communities and create new racial tensions?
    Partner:
    Revolutionary Spaces
  • Philip Dray tells the the epic story of America's reconstruction through the lives of the first black congressmen. After the ratification of the 15th Amendment, which granted black men suffrage, 16 black southerners were elected to the United States Congress. These Capitol men faced a high degree of hostility and scrutiny upon their arrival in Washington, yet actively pursued civil rights and lasting economic and educational reforms. Dray reveals how these men became a source of inspiration for Americans in the years following the Civil War, and how they laid the groundwork for future civil rights legislation.
    Partner:
    Revolutionary Spaces
  • Historian and author Jayne Triber draws on her research and experiences working at Fort Independence on Castle Island in South Boston and at the Boston Harbor Islands national park area to review the dramatic, colorful, and military history of these hidden treasures. For over 350 years, the Boston Harbor Islands have played an important role in the defense of Boston, Massachusetts and the United States. From the colonial period to the Cold War, the Harbor Islands have been the site of fortifications, training camps, prisoner-of-war camps, and Nike missile installations.
    Partner:
    Revolutionary Spaces
  • State Representative Byron Rushing and James Horton, an historian at George Washington University, salute Native American and African American war heroes. This event includes performances and authentic music from the Revolutionary War. It was co-sponsored by the Boston National Historical Park, Massachusetts Historical Society, and Old South Meeting House. The Patriots of Color Celebration derives from the National Park Service report titled, "Patriots of Color, 'A Peculiar Beauty and Merit': African Americans and Native Americans at Battle Road and Bunker Hill". Revolutionary War consultant George Quintal Jr. painstakingly uncovered approximately 120 new minority identities, untold stories that literally and figuratively change the faces of the Lexington and Concord, and Bunker Hill battles. The report's concept was to revive the neglected historical memory of those men before they were permanently lost. The Patriots of Color Celebration reminds the Boston community about their enduring pluralistic heritage and will help educate the public about the African American and Native American communities that are often under-recognized for their ancestral contributions to the Revolutionary War.
    Partner:
    Revolutionary Spaces
  • Jan Turnquist, executive director of Orchard House, discusses the daily activities and pursuits of the Alcotts, a trailblazing family of reformers.
    Partner:
    Revolutionary Spaces
  • Nancy Carlisle, Curator of the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (SPNEA)'s traveling exhibition "Cherished Possessions", tells tales of treasures from the 17th to the late 20th century and how they reflect the larger historical themes of revolution, immigration, industrialization and reform. What can a teapot belonging to Boston Massacre martyr Crispus Attucks or pottery vases made by immigrant women in Boston's North End tell us about the history of New England?
    Partner:
    Revolutionary Spaces
  • "Cherished Possessions" exhibition manager Ken Turino recounts several fascinating stories, including that of a Dorchester family who saved two pieces of bread allegedly dating to the 17th century and a bedcover made by the mother and grandmother of Samuel Adams and passed down through generations of women. Turino shares the stories of how the 200 objects in the "Cherished Possessions" exhibition were saved and managed to survive to the present day, which are often as interesting as the objects themselves.
    Partner:
    Revolutionary Spaces
  • Michaela Neiro assistant conservator for the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (SPNEA), explains how the creative use of materials, such as clay and beeswax, as well as computer technology, help conservators save cherished objects. SPNEA has the largest assemblage of New England art and artifacts in its collection, a total of nearly 100,000 items. The care and conservation of these objects is an astonishingly meticulous and important job.
    Partner:
    Revolutionary Spaces
  • Local historian, author and tour guide Charlie Bahne takes us back to 1773 when the talk of the town was tea. Learn about the actual value of tea not only in monetary ways, but the importance tea played in everyday civilians lives. On the 230th anniversary of the famous event, Mr. Bahne explore these topics and more in the building that served as the dramatic backdrop of the infamous Boston Tea Party meeting.
    Partner:
    Revolutionary Spaces
  • Enoch Woodhouse, attorney and veteran Tuskegee Airman, explains how the heroic deeds of the Tuskegee Airmen in World War II were an important factor in ending racial segregation in the US military by 1948.
    Partner:
    Revolutionary Spaces