To commemorate our 50th anniversary in 2024, we produced a series of short films that revisit the Mass Humanities archive. Love Letters to Lawrence explores the impact of two major oral history projects that took place in the city of Lawrence—Shifting Gears: The Changing Meaning of Work in Massachusetts, 1920-1980, and Somos Latinos: Our Journey to Lawrence and Beyond.
Shifting Gears was Mass Humanities’ first statewide public humanities project, which placed scholars in residence at six Heritage State Parks throughout the Commonwealth, including Fall River, Gardner, Holyoke, Lawrence, North Adams, and the Blackstone River Valley. Residents of these once-prosperous manufacturing towns shared their experiences working in mills and factories, and how they and their loved ones navigated new realities once core industries were relocated to the South or overseas.
Somos Latinos represents a continuation of the public history telling originally captured in Shifting Gears. The permanent exhibit on display at Lawrence Heritage State Park acknowledged an influx of immigration in the 1980s, but fell short of capturing the new demographics of the city, which is primarily Latino.
In 2021, Mass Humanities awarded an Expand Massachusetts Stories grant to the Friends of Lawrence Heritage State Park to begin a new oral history project that would create an exhibit about Latino Lawrence. The Friends partnered with the Lawrence History Center and community to gather photos and personal narratives of their experiences, ultimately highlighting the vibrant cultures and identities that have transformed the city.
