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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

  • Senior sports writer for *The Boston Herald*, Howard Bryant talks about his new book *Shut Out: A Story of Race and Baseball in Boston.* In his book, Bryant traces the haunting practice and legacy of racism, chronicling the policies and personality of the Yawkey family as well as the conflicted Boston press that wrestled with its own racial issues, set against the backdrop of Boston's difficult struggle with race.
    Partner:
    Revolutionary Spaces
  • John Quincy Jr., an 11th generation descendant of the Quincys in America and author of *Quincy's Market*, discusses the history of his well-known ancestors, one of New England's most famous political families. From the early 19th century's Edmund de Quincy to Mayor Josiah Quincy, the man responsible for building one of Boston's best known landmarks, Faneuil Hall Marketplace.
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    Revolutionary Spaces
  • Eric Jackson, who has been heard nightly on WGBH 89.7 FM for more than 20 years, discusses the rise of this beloved and uniquely American music form in the wild decade of the 1920's. Jackson, host of WGBH's Eric in the Evening, has been called the dean of Boston jazz radio. Using Buddy Bolden as a starting point, Jackson highlights the changing instruments in the early jazz band and discusses stylistic changes in the music through piano styles like ragtime, stride and boogie woogie. He underscores the differences between what is called New Orleans jazz and the styles popularized in Chicago in the late 20s. Jackson reviews the roots of the big band by looking at Fletcher Henderson and Don Redman's pioneering work.
    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.
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    Revolutionary Spaces
  • Dr. Anouar Majid, professor and chair of English at the University of New England, discusses the United States' first major contact with the Muslim World in the Barbary War and the parallels to our own time.
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    Revolutionary Spaces
  • Howard Zinn discusses his classic book *A People's History of the United States*. James R. Green, Professor of History at UMass, Boston, moderates. This event is presented in collaboration with the Organization of American Historians as a Partners in Public Dialogue Program.
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    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.
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    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