Finding Community in Hope and Loss
Just over 250 years ago, Bostonians looked for a path forward after five men were killed by British troops at the Boston Massacre on March 5, 1770, just as we now look for a path forward through the current public health crisis. In the wake of the Boston Massacre, community leaders stood up at Old South Meeting House to commemorate their fallen neighbors and inspire change through rousing speeches.
🗣️ Now we want to hear from YOU.
This March 5, we invite you to follow in the footsteps of Revolutionary Era Bostonians by making a speech (or song, poem, you name it) that helps transform grief into a call for change. During this event on March 5, 2021, "Finding Community and Hope in Loss," we will broadcast speeches by community members remembering their loss and urging us all to take action on a difficult problem.
LEARN MORE: www.revolutionaryspaces.org/march5
Monumental Attucks on Nov. 10
They were called hoodlums, rioters, and ruffians, but their memorial still stands.
Join us on Tues, Nov. 10, at 3pm ET for Monumental Attucks, where we'll discuss the Boston Massacre monument on Boston Common, and reflect on how monuments bring us together and when they drive us apart.
REGISTER NOW: https://www.revolutionaryspaces.org/2020/10/23/monumental-attucks-event/
Imagining Attucks
Imagining Attucks explored how Attucks has been interpreted through the years and grappled with the challenges that come with portraying Attucks.
Panelists included:
-- Rasheed Walters, a Boston-based social entrepreneur and historical re-enactor who has played Crispus Attucks in the Boston Massacre re-enactment
-- Miranda ADEkoje, Boston-based playwright, currently writing I Am This Place, a new short play about Crispus Attucks commissioned by Revolutionary Spaces and produced by Plays in Place.
-- Mitch Kachun, Professor Emeritus of History at Western Michigan University, and author of First Martyr of Liberty: Crispus Attucks in American Memory
Learn more about #ReflectingAttucks at https://www.revolutionaryspaces.org/exhibits/reflecting-attucks/.
Attucks and Liberty & Sovereignty in 18th Century New England
Attucks and the Politics of Liberty & Sovereignty in 18th Century New England reflected on the political conversations that were taking place around the time of the Boston Massacre among white colonists and the African- and Native-descended communities. The Revolutionary period is most often associated with colonists arguing for their rights as British subjects to tax themselves under a locally elected government, but that is only part of the story. Blacks were also seeking to make the case for liberty to end the practice of slavery, while Native peoples continued to reclaim their sovereignty after more than a century of colonial expansion.
Panelists included:
-- Chris Newell, Executive Director and Senior Partner to Wabanaki Nations for the Smithsonian-affiliate Abbe Museum in Bar Harbor, Maine, and a member of the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Indian Township
-- Chernoh Sesay, Associate Professor of Religious Studies at DePaul University, currently writing a book titled "Black Boston and the Making of African-American Freemasonry: Leadership, Religion, and Community in Early America"
-- Serena Zabin, Professor of History, at Carleton College and the author of "The Boston Massacre: A Family History," released this past March in time for the 250th anniversary of the Massacre.
-- David Silverman, Professor of History at The George Washington University, and author of "This Land is Their Land: The Wampanoag Indians, Plymouth Colony, and Troubled History of Thanksgiving"
Demanding Freedom: Attucks and the Abolition Movement
The question persists: How can a nation enslave and brutalize a people who have fought and died for American liberty?
Join us on Tuesday, Oct. 20 at 4pm ET for Demanding Freedom: Attucks and the Abolition Movement, where we'll place the work of 19th century abolitionists into a contemporary setting by reflecting on the obstacles that persist to today when Americans are asked to live up to the founding promises of freedom and liberty for all.
REGISTER NOW: https://www.revolutionaryspaces.org/events/attucks-abolition-movement/
Attucks: A Man of Many Worlds
"Attucks: A Man of Many Worlds" unpacks what we know about Crispus Attucks’s time and place. He lived in a world where many people were descended from both Native and African peoples that had much in common, including enslavement at the hands of white colonists. With this background, Attucks would have had a deep understanding of British oppression, and how his community fought back. And as a mariner going through the port of Boston, he would have encountered people both black and white making the case for liberty and freedom in louder and more certain terms.
Panelists include:
Kerri Greenidge, Mellon Assistant Professor in the Department of Studies in Race, Colonialism, and Diaspora at Tufts University, and author of "Black Radical: The Life and Times of William Monroe Trotter"
Jared Hardesty, Associate Professor of History at Western Washington University, and author of "Black Lives, Native Lands, White Worlds: A History of Slavery in New England"
Chris Newell, Executive Director and Senior Partner to Wabanaki Nations for the Smithsonian-affiliate Abbe Museum in Bar Harbor, Maine, and a member of the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Indian Township
Learn more about Attucks and his background here: https://www.revolutionaryspaces.org/exhibits/reflecting-attucks/reflecting-attucks-man-many-worlds/
Join us Tues, Sept. 29 for Imagining Attucks
Join us next Tues, Sept. 29, at 4pm ET for Imagining Attucks, where we'll discuss the challenges that come with bringing Crispus Attucks to life by drawing on the historical record to create a well-rounded portrayal of the man who helped spark the American Revolution.
Panelists include:
--- Rasheed Walters, a Boston-based social entrepreneur and historical re-enactor who has played Crispus Attucks in the Boston Massacre re-enactment
--- Miranda ADEkoje, a Boston-based playwright, currently writing I Am This Place, a new short play about Crispus Attucks commissioned by Revolutionary Spaces and produced by Plays in Place.
--- Mitch Kachun, Professor Emeritus of History at Western Michigan University, and author of First Martyr of Liberty: Crispus Attucks in American Memory
REGISTER NOW: https://www.revolutionaryspaces.org/events/imagining-attucks/
Join us Sept. 22 for Attucks and the Politics of Liberty & Sovereignty in 18th Century New England
What was Crispus Attucks fighting for?
He is often called the first man to die for American independence, but what had he seen, what had he experienced, that made him take action the night of the #BostonMassacre?
Our next #ReflectingAttucks virtual panel - Attucks and the Politics of Liberty & Sovereignty in 18th Century New England - looks at the politics and environment that would have shaped Attucks's worldview, to understand what liberty may have meant to him.
REGISTER NOW: https://www.revolutionaryspaces.org/events/attucks-politics-liberty-sovereignty/
Reflecting Attucks at RevolutionarySpaces.org
Over the course of several months, #ReflectingAttucks provides a ground-breaking look at Crispus Attucks - a man of African and Native descent, who was the first to die at the Boston Massacre.
The time has never been more relevant to reflect on the "first martyr of liberty" as our nation grapples with the vital role that protest and resistance play in American democracy and with the historical roots of inequality, particularly for Black and Indigenous communities.
Join the conversation: www.RevolutionarySpaces.org/ReflectingAttucks
Video narration by Charles Coe.
Poetry in the Time of Corona - Charles Coe
Late last week, a small group of us gathered to hear poet, writer, teacher, performer, and Revolutionary Spaces board member Charles Coe perform several poems related to life, memory, and loss.
Poetry often helps us put words to emotions we may not otherwise be able to express, and convening to hear these words together brings an opportunity to reflect on what we're going through and where we go from here.
Watch here as Charles performs two of his original poems, "Love in the Time of Corona" and "Something in the Wind."
The full text of both poems can be found on our website, here: https://www.revolutionaryspaces.org/2020/04/30/poetry-in-the-time-of-corona/
#NationalPoetryMonth
The Death of Dr. Joseph Warren - Virtual Talk
It's already been six weeks since we had to postpone our reimagining of Dr. Joseph Warren's 1775 Massacre oration at Old South Meeting House, but that doesn't mean we can't learn more about Dr. Warren and his life, or in this case, his death.
Hear more from Revolutionary Spaces educator Katie Livingston about how Joseph Warren died at the Battle of Bunker Hill in today's virtual talk.
Image credits:
Image 1: Artist Reproduction of “Portrait of Joseph Warren by John Singleton Copley (1765)” by Katie Livingston
Image 2: “The Death of General Joseph Warren at the Battle of Bunker’s Hill” by John Trumbull, dated between 1815 and 1831
Image 3: Skull of Dr. Joseph Warren - from the index of pictures from “Founding Martyr” by Christian di Spigna, courtesy of Massachusetts Historical Society.
National Poetry Month - Nancy Taylor - Revolutionary Spaces
Today for #NationalPoetryMonth, we're highlighting Julia Ward Howe's poem "The Old South." This poem was written for an 1877 volume of poetry created as a fundraiser for Old South Meeting House in its early days as a nonprofit.
Watch as Nancy Taylor - Senior Minister & CEO of Old South Church in Boston and Revolutionary Spaces board member - reads "The Old South."
Nat Sheidley at Commemoration of the 250th Anniversary of the Boston Massacre
#ThrowbackThursday to just over one month ago when we were gathered together at Old South Meeting House to commemorate the 250th Anniversary of the Boston Massacre.
Like Bostonians before us, we're now living in an "in between" time. Bostonians before us lived through "before the Boston Massacre" and "after the Boston Massacre," just as we're now living through the "in between" of "before COVID," and "after COVID."
It's imperative we remember the past to better understand the world we're living in today to help build a more just and equitable future for tomorrow.
How the 18th Century Responded to Illness
We may have cat videos, Netflix, and Zoom to keep us occupied in these times of physical distancing and quarantine. But how much do you know about how 18th century Bostonians responded to illness?
Take a look at our newest blog post where we talk about how six prominent Bostonians - including Dr. Joseph Warren, Paul Revere, Dorothy Quincy Hancock, John and Abigail Adams, and Dr. Thomas Young - reacted to illness in their lives.
https://www.revolutionaryspaces.org/2020/04/06/how-the-18th-century-responded-to-illness-before-netflix-and-zoom/
How are you and your loved ones managing isolation and physical distancing? Tell us in the comments!
I'm With You - #AFuture4ThePast
"If you're worried about your community and wonder how public history can help."
We're with you.
#AFuture4ThePast
Find out more via: http://afuture4thepast.com.
The primary purpose of #AFuture4thePast is to foster a community of museum and public history professionals for advice, information, and shared experiences during an uncertain time for us all.
Dr. Ted Landsmark - Commemoration of the 250th Anniversary of the Boston Massacre
#ThrowbackThursday to our March 5 Commemoration of the 250th Anniversary of the Boston Massacre at Old South Meeting House. We were honored to have Dr. Ted Landsmark read a remembrance of Crispus Attucks - a man of African and Native descent, who was the first person to die at the Boston Massacre.
Listen as Dr. Landsmark narrates the events of the night of March 5, 1770, and how Attucks ended up in front of the Old State House that night.
Tanisha Sullivan - Commemoration of the 250th Anniversary of the Boston Massacre
#ThrowbackThursday - Watch Tanisha Sullivan, president of the NAACP Boston Branch, talk about self-determination and how Bostonians of all races came together for that common cause.
Thank you to WGBH Forum Network for helping us relive these moments when we were together at Old South Meeting House on March 5, 2020, commemorating the 250th Anniversary of the Boston Massacre.
Mayor Marty Walsh - Commemoration of the 250th Anniversary of the Boston Massacre
“Your name Revolutionary Spaces says it all - something that is really important. A revolutionary history isn’t just about the past, it inspires Boston to be a revolution today, for medical treatments that heal people, for leading the fight in social justice.”
Hear more from our mayor Marty Walsh about how Boston’s diverse communities made it the city it is today.
#BostonMassacre250
Commemoration of the 250th Anniversary of the Boston Massacre
We are LIVE at the Old South Meeting House, sharing stories of the victims of the #BostonMassacre and exploring how we use our memories of the past to build our future.
Welcome to Revolutionary Spaces
"I think what's most exciting is an opportunity to reach new audiences and to bring people together with us to have a conversation about what this history means and how it can serve us moving forward."