Event Category: Special Series

The story of Community Servings over the past 30 years is one of innovation, food justice and community building. Focused on providing scratch-made, medically tailored meals to critically and chronically ill neighbors across Massachusetts, the agency leverages thousands of volunteers to make 800,000 meals each year to serve individuals and families who are hungry, sick…

Author Nicholas A. Basbanes discusses the remarkable relationship of the celebrated 19th-century poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and his wife, Frances Appleton Longfellow, the focus of his recent biography of the couple, Cross of Snow, which is set largely in Boston and Cambridge during the tumultuous years leading up to the Civil War. The couple’s marriage…

Completing the United States Census is a core element of active citizenship. Census numbers impact community funding, representation in Congress, and so much more. And yet, the history of the Census includes barriers to full participation. Although the United States Census is meant to be an unbiased and apolitical part of American democracy, it has…

On the night of June 1, 1743, terror struck the schooner Rising Sun. After completing a routine smuggling voyage where the crew sold enslaved Africans in exchange for chocolate, sugar, and coffee in the Dutch colony of Suriname, the ship traveled eastward along the South American coast. Believing there was an opportunity to steal the lucrative…

Dr. Salim Washington discussed the life of David Walker, the 19th-century Black abolitionist and author of the history-changing pamphlet Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World. This talk was the first of a three-part series dedicated to Walker, his work, and his legacy. Living as a free Black man in Boston, David Walker published his…

Artist, educator, and activist L’Merchie Frazier and playwright Peter Snoad discussed David Walker’s Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World. This talk was the second in a three-part series dedicated to Walker, his work, and his legacy. David Walker, a 19th-century Black abolitionist, was a fiery and unforgiving voice in the fight for freedom and…

In his 1829 Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World, the influential Black abolitionist David Walker wrote, “America is as much our country, as it is yours.” Yet, the conflict between belonging and excluding threads through our nation’s history from its beginning. For the final digital speaker event that touches on David Walker’s life and legacy,…

During the American Revolution, women were thrust into the difficulties and dangers of the war. With many men joining the militia, women found themselves in charge of family businesses and farms. This required them to learn new skills or take a more active role than they had previously. Some women became camp followers and performed…

Julie Flavell’s new book, The Howe Dynasty, provides a ground-breaking reinterpretation of one of 18th century Britain’s most famous military families that forces us to imagine the Revolutionary War in ways that would have been previously inconceivable. Delving into previously neglected letters of the sister of General William Howe and Admiral Richard Lord Howe, The Howe Dynasty explores…

With Boston’s identity as a port city, the Old North Church was shaped in many ways by the congregation’s relationship with the Atlantic world and maritime industry. Researcher T.J. Todd dived into the stories of two of Old North’s most famous seafaring congregants: Captain Samuel Nicholson, the first commander of the USS Constitution, and Captain Thomas Gruchy,…