Museum of African American History - Boston and Nantucket

12/20/2023

Thank you to our friends at Rasky Partners for highlighting Dr. Trent's interview and the !

12/18/2023

Thank you for making this year's Living Legends Gala memorable! Together, we raised more than a HALF MILLION dollars in support of the Museum!

City of Boston Poet Laureate, Porsha Olayiwola opened the program. Host, Anthony Anderson kept the crowd laughing while Dr. Noelle Trent grounded the event in the history, purpose, and future of the Museum. We celebrated our three unique Living Legends Awardees. Auctioneer John Terrio and Anthony Anderson helped raise $110,000 in thirty minutes. A musical surprise from the Hamilton-Garrett Drum Line closed the show and opened our dinner-afterparty where DJ Real P kept the crowd dancing all night.

WE CAN'T WAIT TO DO IT AGAIN NEXT YEAR!

Here are a few select photographs from the night, we will share more soon!

12/09/2023

Boston followers! Thank you for helping us sell out the ! We have added seats and have a small block of tickets left at eventcreate.com/e/llg23

Join us Sunday!!

12/04/2023

On this day in history! Visit the African Meeting House Tuesday - Friday 10am - 4pm. #

12/04/2023

Thank you to Host Sponsor, TJX Companies! We appreciate your continued support and commitment to our mission.

12/01/2023

With the just over a week away, we are excited to share the news that Anthony Anderson will be returning as our host!

Emmy and Golden Globe nominated actor, Anthony Anderson starred for 8 seasons in ABC’s multiaward nominated sitcom “black-ish” where he portrayed Andre “Dre” Johnson, where he also served as executive producer.

Anderson recently completed a six-week journey around Europe with his mother for their reality series “Trippin’ with Anthony Anderson and Mama Doris” which premiered on E! in July 2023 and is available for streaming on Peacock. He also partnered with Cedric the Entertainer to launch their own barbecue label, AC Barbeque, and documented their journey to become barbeque masters on the A&E Network unscripted series “Kings of BBQ” which premiered in August 2023.

Active in his community as an advocate and philanthropist, Anderson holds an annual Anthony Anderson Celebrity Golf Classic, benefiting the American Diabetes Association, Los Angeles Mission and Boys & Girls Club of America. He also proudly serves on the GOOD+ Foundation’s Fatherhood Leadership Council and was inducted into the Class of 2017 Boys & Girls Club of America National Alumni Hall of Fame. Anderson has Type 2 diabetes and is an advocate for diabetes awareness and a spokesperson for the “Get Real About Diabetes” campaign. He received the 2023 Golden Glove Award by the Sugar Ray Leonard Foundation acknowledging Anderson’s commitment to helping raise awareness for diabetes.

Born in 1970, Anderson pursued his acting career as he continued his education by attending Hollywood High School for the Performing Arts, where he earned first place in the NAACP's ACTSO Awards with his performance of the classic monologue from "The Great White Hope." That performance, along with his dedication to his craft, earned him an arts scholarship to Howard University. Anderson currently lives in Los Angeles.

11/28/2023

MAAH is History, and this you can be a part of the story. Donate today! www.maah.org

11/27/2023

In this season of gratitude, MAAH is thankful for our Main Stage Sponsor Liberty Mutual Insurance!

Join us for the on December 10 at the Four Seasons to celebrate our honorees! Purchase your tickets today at eventcreate.com/e/llg23

11/13/2023

Clayton H.W. Turnbull was born in Jamaica and came to the United States with his parents at the age of six. Mr. Turnbull attended Boston Public Schools, graduating from Dorchester High. He then received his bachelor’s degree in marketing from The University of Massachusetts Boston. In 1992 Mr. Turnbull secured the rights to develop a geographical area for Dunkin' Donuts as a franchisee. Building stores in economically deprived neighborhoods was his vision and motive for the business plan. Today he owns and operates Dunkin’ stores in diverse neighborhoods of Boston (Back Bay, Dorchester, Nubian Square, Roxbury), Logan Airport and Quincy. As CEO of The Waldwin Group he is committed to creating a rewarding experience for customers and employees in alignment with core values and a mission to provide the best service and product to customers.

Mr. Turnbull's development experience in real estate consists of various projects. Most notably he revamped an unoccupied building on Allerton Street in New Market Square in 2005. He built on a parcel of land from the ground up, a mixed commercial and residential units in Nubian Square in 2018 and he developed in 2014 beautiful condos in Jamaica Plain. Ownership of three family properties was the catalyst for driving his passion to develop properties of substance in Boston communities. He has also developed diverse Dunkin’ concepts including more than 10 retail spaces in Terminal A, B and E at Logan Airport. These locations entailed very complex and challenging experiences. He has negotiated an array of leases such as vanilla box arrangements.

Mr. Turnbull serves on many boards and organizations including Eastern Bank, Board of Directors of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and former chairs the Neighborhood Housing Trust and Dimock Community Health Center Foundation Board. Clayton H. W. Turnbull served as Vice President of the 2004 Democratic National Convention, one of the most successful conventions for the Democrats.

Mr. Turnbull has lived in Boston for over 50 years and continues to be involved in the future of the city. He has served on the board of Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries, Black & White Boston and The Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative, a unique organization that established the standards and influenced the way communities are revitalized, for 12 years. He has received many awards and recognition for his work as a successful entrepreneur and his community involvement.

His values and priorities begin with his family. Although he has received numerous awards and recognition for his accomplishments he continues to be focused and proud of the efforts and accomplishments of each one of his retail outlets and their staff. Above all, Mr. Turnbull emphasizes, “My wife and family are the best part of my life”.

11/10/2023

Melissa M. MacDonnell is President of the Foundation at Liberty Mutual Insurance and Vice President, Community Investments at Liberty Mutual Insurance. Since she founded Liberty Mutual Foundation in 2003, it has committed more than $340 million dollars to 1,300+ organizations through direct grants, with a focus on advancing security and building resiliency for vulnerable people and communities. As Vice President of Community Investments at Liberty Mutual Insurance, Melissa also oversees the company’s corporate community engagement, including its philanthropic thought leadership, robust employee engagement and Integrated Programs, which leverages Liberty’s core capabilities, expertise and assets to drive greater impact in the community. The recipient of numerous awards for her philanthropic work, Melissa believes deeply in the potential of the private sector, in concert with the community at large, to ignite social good.

Melissa earned her BS in Finance with a concentration in Spanish from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, an MBA from the Carroll School of Management at Boston College and an MPA from Harvard Kennedy School.

11/08/2023

Ruth J. Simmons is a Distinguished Presidential Fellow at Rice University and Adviser to the President of Harvard University on HBCU Initiatives. She served as President of Prairie View A&M University until March 2023. Prior to joining Prairie View, she was President of Brown University from 2001-2012 and President of Smith College from 1995-2001. Under her leadership, Prairie View was reclassified as an R-2 Research University and Brown made significant strides in improving its standing as one of the world’s finest research universities.

A French professor before entering university administration, President Simmons held an appointment as a Professor of Comparative Literature and Africana Studies at Brown. After completing her Ph.D. in Romance Languages and Literatures at Harvard, she served in various faculty and administrative roles at the University of Southern California, Princeton University, and Spelman College before becoming president of Smith College, the largest women’s college in the United States. At Smith, she launched a number of important academic initiatives, including an engineering program, the first at an American women’s college.

Simmons is the recipient of many honors, including a Fulbright Fellowship to France, the 2001 President’s Award from the United Negro College Fund, the 2002 Fulbright Lifetime Achievement Medal, the 2004 Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Medal, the Foreign Policy Association Medal, the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, and the Centennial Medal from Harvard University. She has received over forty honorary degrees from universities around the world, including Oxford University, Ewha Women’s University in South Korea and The American College in Greece. Simmons serves on the boards of the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, the Alley Theatre, The MacArthur Foundation, Morehouse College, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Holdsworth Center, and Hines Global Income Trust. She received the Brown faculty’s highest honor: the Susan Colver Rosenberger Medal in 2011 and was honored by the Prairie View faculty in 2022. In 2012, she was named a ‘chevalier’ of the French Legion of Honor.

10/23/2023

We were honored to host descendants of the Roberts family at the Museum this past weekend, who generously donated a family Bible that was gifted from Benjamin Franklin Roberts to his wife, Adeline Fowler Roberts, in 1873.

In 1838, Benjamin Franklin Roberts opened his business in Boston printing books, pamphlets, cards, posters, handbills and show bills. In 1848, self-employed and supported by the black community, he advanced the cause of equal education on behalf of black children who were excluded from all-white schools. He sued the City of Boston on behalf of his daughter, Sarah, with Robert Morris, one of Boston’s first black attorneys, and Senator Charles Sumner. In 1850, his landmark case failed, however the same basic argument prevailed with the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education in 1954.

10/18/2023

Join the Museum of African American History and Pulitzer-prize-winning journalist, Dean Calbreath, on Thursday, October 26th from 6:00-7:00 p.m. for an engaging discussion on his new book The Sergeant. Learn about Nicolas Said, a young black man born in the African Kingdom of Borno, whose life takes a drastic change when he is kidnapped and sold into slavery. In a journey that would take him from across Africa, Asia, Europe, and eventually the United States Nicolas Said would go on to join the Massachusetts 54th regiment who were recruited in the African Meeting House. He would go on to continue fighting for equality, meeting figures such as Queen Victoria and Czar Nicholas I.

10/12/2023

See you this Sunday!

The Museum of African American History and the Beacon Hill Civic Association proudly presents “Let the Children Sing! A Tribute to Susan Paul” in the African Meeting House at the Museum of African American History on Beacon Hill.
The program honors 19th-century educator and abolitionist Susan Paul who, in 1832, formed a juvenile choir that performed at anti-slavery meetings and held concerts to raise money for the cause.
The concert features joyous music by Boston’s next generation of innovative artists like the City Strings, Hamilton-Garrett Youth Choir, and The Eastern Mass Children’s Choir, as well as remarks from civic and community leaders, including literary performer and educator Regie Gibson. Click the link in our bio to reserve a ticket.

10/03/2023

You're invited! Join us on Sunday, December 10, as we celebrate the 2023 Living Legends honorees - Clayton Turnbull, Melissa M. MacDonnell, and Dr. Ruth Simmons.

The Living Legends Award recognizes outstanding lifetime accomplishments to civil and human rights locally and nationally. The Living Legends Award continues a tradition established by the African Meeting House when they honored stalwart visionaries
including Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison.

Tickets and sponsorships information available at eventcreate.com/e/llg23

09/17/2023

Please join us next Sunday for Black in the cradle of liberty, a special program at Faneuil Hall in collaboration with the National Parks Service and the City of Boston please Join us for BLACK- in the cradle of liberty. For more than 250 years, Faneuil Hall has opened its doors to dialogue and debate centered on the founding questions of this country — What does liberty mean? Who is included— or excluded— in our visions of liberty? Using the "Cradle of Liberty" as a platform, generations have grappled with these questions and responded with their own answers. BLACK-in the cradle of liberty continues this tradition by sparking thoughtful, compelling conversations about the complexities of our past featuring: DJ WhySham, Nnenna Loveth, Ryan-Rei Fielder, Crystal Valentine, Cakeswagg, Tim Hall, Ifé Franklin, Danny Rivera, Porsha Olayiwola, Anastasia Wade, Javonna Corbin, and Kenard Williams.

09/06/2023

Drumroll please...the 2023 MAAH Stone Book
Award winner is...Thulani Davis for The Emancipation Circuit! And our finalists, Kerri K. Greenidge's The Grimkes and and Claude Johnson's The Black Fives! Bravo!Join us on October 19th @ 6:30pm at the African Meeting House, Boston, MA when we will celebrate these authors and their extraordinary works of scholarship! Registration opens 09/19.

08/27/2023

The Museum of African American History and Boston’s Poet Laureate, Porsha Olaywiola proudly presents “Letters for Phillis” in the African Meeting House at the Museum of African American History in Beacon Hill.

September 2023 marks the Semiquincentennial of the publication of Phillis Wheatley-Peters’s Book "Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral" This event seeks to highlight the life and work of the poet who, during her time alive in our city, was ignored and discredited. 

Letters for Phillis is a poetry reading inspired by the friendship between Phillis and Obour. It considers the legacy of Black Women Poets, their friendship, their lives, and their work. Five Black Femme Identifying Poets will read their work using the legacy of Phillis Wheatley Peters as inspiration and muse. Click the link in out bio to reserve a ticket.

08/06/2023

The Museum of African American History and the Beacon Hill Civic Association proudly presents “Let the Children Sing! A Tribute to Susan Paul” in the African Meeting House at the Museum of African American History on Beacon Hill.
The program honors 19th-century educator and abolitionist Susan Paul who, in 1832, formed a juvenile choir that performed at anti-slavery meetings and held concerts to raise money for the cause.
The concert features joyous music by Boston’s next generation of innovative artists like the City Strings, Hamilton-Garrett Youth Choir, and The Eastern Mass Children’s Choir, as well as remarks from civic and community leaders, including literary performer and educator Regie Gibson. Click the link in our bio to reserve a ticket.

07/29/2023

Our 2023 Stone Book Award Short List is here!! The following fourteen books were chosen from 90 eligible submissions. Books are judged based on their scholarship and accessibility, with an eye toward identifying exceptional works that spark dialogue within and across social and racial groups. .prof

07/17/2023

Join us tomorrow at the Robert Gould Shaw and 54th Regiment Memorial for a special program commemorating the 160th Anniversary of the Battle for Fort Wagner. Come learn their story and celebrate their heroism through historical reenactment.

06/22/2023

We are very proud to announce that we have received $140,000 from the National Trust for Historic Preservation African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund! This funding will allow us to restore the windows, fence, retaining wall and more at the Nantucket .

MAAH is one of 40 sites to receive a total of $3.8 million in grant funding to advance ongoing preservation activities for historic places such as sites, museums, and landscapes that represent African American cultural heritage. With more than $91 million in funding, the Action Fund is the largest U.S. resource dedicated to the preservation of African American historic places.

Since 2017, the Action Fund has received an unprecedented total of 5,638 funding proposals requesting $655 million. Since 2018, the Action Fund has supported 242 grantee projects through its investment of $20M.

To learn more about this program and this year’s grant recipients, visit savingplaces.org/actionfund.

06/15/2023

Commemorate Juneteenth on Nantucket!

Join us for a day of celebration in honor of Juneteenth! Come on a walking tour of the Nantucket Coloured Cemetery, join the community as we learn about the history and significance of Juneteenth at the Museum of African American History, and get ready for a fun-filled cookout. ALL residents & visitors are invited to participate in these FREE events. Events are weather permitting; no rain date.
Hosted by: Nantucket Cultural District, Town of Nantucket Culture & Tourism, TON Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Office, Nantucket Historical Association, Nantucket Island Chamber of Commerce.

06/08/2023

Last month MAAH hosted 10 volunteers from Liberty Mutual Insurance through the initiative. The day started with a tour of the . Then volunteers worked on projects including social media content creation, and a hackathon to increase user experience on the MAAH website and make it more accessible. Thank you to Liberty Mutual Insurance and all the volunteers!

05/01/2023

We had an educational and fun filled weekend with the Ronald McNair scholars from UMass Boston!

04/26/2023

We are excited to announce that Dr. Noelle Trent will be joining MAAH as the next President & CEO following an extensive national search. Dr. Trent comes to MAAH from the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee where she served as the Director of Interpretation, Collections & Education.

“I am honored and excited to join the Museum of African American History. Together, with an experienced senior staff and an engaged and supportive board, I am confident that we will expand MAAH’s reach, influence, and impact throughout the region and across the country,” said Dr. Trent.

Dr. Trent’s arrival now completes the museum’s senior management staff which includes Education and Interpretation Program Director, Christian Walkes and Development Director Alexia Layne–Lomon. Historians Professor Kellie Carter Jackson, the Michael and Denise Kellen 68’ Associate Professor in the Department of Africana Studies at Wellesley College, and Dr. Kerri Greenidge, the Mellon Assistant Professor in the Department of Studies in Race, Colonialism, and Diaspora at Tufts University, round out the leadership team.

“Given her experience in education, collections, and historic sites and her background in new and emerging technologies, Dr. Trent is the complete package. She is poised to hit the ground running and will take MAAH to the next level by serving as a community anchor and elevating the organization to regional and national prominence,” said Auntaneshia Staveloz, Supervisory Program Manager, Office of Strategic Partnerships, National Museum of African American History and Culture and MAAH Search Committee Member.

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Trent!

04/05/2023

See you tonight! There are still a handful of in-person tickets left. You can also join us online at https://wgbh.zoom.us/j/91060473826

TOMORROW at 6 pm 👉 https://bit.ly/3nMuni7
Join Museum of African American History - Boston and Nantucket Christian Walkes as he moderates a conversation between Harvard Graduate School of Education Jarvisr Givens and Dartmouth professor JoshuaBennett for a conversation on friendship and black studies.

03/27/2023

in 1825, the charter for the African Meeting House on Nantucket was written. This school year, graduate students from Professor Tiya Miles's Slavery & Public History course at Harvard University have spent time working with MAAH's Nantucket campus, fundraising to restore the windows. The students spent the fall semester working with the Museum to learn about the site, culminating in a visit in early December to tour the Museum's Nantucket campus.

The windows are in need of total repair and restoration – The historic windows at the African Meeting House have a combination of original 1825 and restoration glass panes. As of December 2022, all of the caulking is peeling off, and they are becoming at risk of falling out. At this point, it is difficult to even clean them without the risk of them falling. To restore them, the upper and lower window sashes will need to be removed and taken to a specialty restoration shop. Each pane will be removed one-by-one, the wood treated and cleaned, then each pane restored to the same place, with fresh layers of paint as the final step. The estimated cost of this work is $50,000. If you'd like to learn more and support the students and the Meetinghouse in this effort, please click on the link in the bio to read their pitch.