Events

Poet & Professor Nancy Genevieve Kohl will lead a writing workshop with the Representative Shirley Chisholm quote as a prompt “If they don't give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.” Inviting attendees to reflect on, write about, and discuss political voice. Writer's choice: poetry, memoir, prose... Register for this online event here: https://libcal.readingpl.org/event/6601149

The movie follows Native Americans in New Mexico taking a stand against injustice in the political process. Personal stories demonstrate how minority communities are using their voting rights as they participate more fully in elections. Their efforts lead to significant positive changes in New Mexico state election law. This story might serve as a model for how other minority populations throughout the U.S. can work together to make sure they can cast their votes and that their votes will be…

It's 1884 and Belva Lockwood is on the campaign trail! Attend her fiery campaign speech to hear her plans for equality and justice for all. She'll recollect her humble beginnings, and describe her fight to become the first woman admitted to the Supreme Court Bar. Includes renditions of popular suffrage songs. Step Back to Election 1884 with historian and performer Anne Barrett. Register for this live online performance: https://libcal.readingpl.org/event/6488502

Along with Brockton Mayor Robert Sullivan (in photo), MassCyberCenter Director Stephanie Helm and others will participate in the conversation.  Topics include: managing cyber security risks, MA Innovations Pathway Programs, how to earn a cyber security certificate, PreK-12 digital literacy & computer science programs, MA grant programs including Community Compact Cabinet Information Technology Grants and Cybersecurity Awareness Grant Program for communities. Potential questions to be addressed: What has been the impact of COVID-19 and protests for equity on voting? How do we define and…

Celebrate the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment and Women's Equality Day with author Jen Deaderick  discussing her new graphic novel She the People: A Graphic History of Uprisings, Breakdowns, Setbacks, Revolts, and Enduring Hope on the Unfinished Road to Women's Equality. Register for this online event here: https://libcal.readingpl.org/event/6580993

The American Bar Association Standing Committee on the Law Library of Congress has launched a 19th Amendment traveling exhibit, "100 Years After the 19th Amendment: Their Legacy, and Our Future.”  The six-banner free-standing exhibit features historic photos and artifacts and details the story of the battle for ratification and outlines the challenges that remain. The exhibit was recently awarded a 2019 GDUSA American Graphic Design Award.  The banners will be available for viewing in the lobbies of the three branches…

Join the Jamaica Plain Historical Society to walk around Woodbourne. This neighborhood developed from 19th-century summer estates into a model suburban enclave. It contains examples representative of New England architecture with designs by local architects and builders. It also contains an unusual garden city model housing development by the Boston Dwelling House Company which was founded in 1912. All JPHS tours last between 60 and 90 minutes and are canceled in case of heavy rain. No reservations are required, just…

Join the Jamaica Plain Historical Society on a walk around the Jamaica Pond. Once a district that only included the houses of Boston’s elite, the Pond later was put to industrial use as tons of ice were harvested there each winter. Learn about the movers and shakers such as Francis Parkman and James Michael Curley who made their homes on the Pond’s shores. Discover how the Pond was transformed from private estates and warehouses into the parkland we know today.…

During the 19th century, the United States expanded dramatically westward. Immigrant settlers rapidly spread across the continent and transformed it, often through violent or deceptive means, from ancestral Native lands and borderlands teeming with diverse communities to landscapes that fueled the rise of industrialized cities. Historical maps, images and related objects tell the story of the sweeping changes made to the physical, cultural, and political landscape. Moving beyond the mythologized American frontier, this map exhibition explores the complexity of factors…

"F/V Innovation" is a new exhibit at the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center that explores the evolution of vessels and gear and pays tribute to individuals whose innovations propelled the commercial fishing industry into the modern era. The Center is open Thursday - Sunday, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The Center is wheelchair accessible with free off-street parking.

Inside Chinatown features photography by eleven Chinatown community members who used photography to not only share the experiences, challenges, and successes found in their community, but also to author their own history of what it means to work and live in Boston's Chinatown. The exhibition is a culmination of six months of coursework where participants K.C., Qianying Guan, B.K., Barney Ko, Yingyan Liang, Kim Sit, Angela Soo Hoo, Heman Tang, Justine Wang, and Warren Wong learned about the neighborhood's history…

A new exhibit exploring how the African meeting House fortified Boston's 19th-century African American community by providing a space for cultural expression.

"Faith in a City" is a project exploring religion in Somerville through music, photography, video, interviews and history as a way to better understand our community. The focus is how religion is meaningful to people across the City. The project includes concerts, talks, panel discussions and an exhibit. "Faith in a City" includes some congregations near Somerville where local residents go to worship. Many thanks to Keyzom Bhutti, Boston Japanese Christian Church, Dormition of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church,…

During the 19th century, the United States expanded dramatically westward. Immigrant settlers rapidly spread across the continent and transformed it, often through violent or deceptive means, from ancestral Native lands and borderlands teeming with diverse communities to landscapes that fueled the rise of industrialized cities. Historical maps, images and related objects tell the story of the sweeping changes made to the physical, cultural, and political landscape. Moving beyond the mythologized American frontier, this map exhibition explores the complexity of factors…

Join us at the Somerville Museum for a talk with some of the artists of the "Faith in a City" exhibit and producer/curator Charan Devereaux. Admission is $10, free for Somerville Museum members and members of participating congregations. More about "Faith in a City" "Faith in a City" is a project exploring religion in Somerville. Massachusetts through music, photography, video, interviews and history as a way to better understand our community. The focus is how religion is meaningful to people…

Tune into our Facebook channel at 1:30 on Wednesday April 29 and watch our Discover Danvers Roundtable Live! Artifacts come to life through the eyes of volunteer researchers from Salem State University. Unfortunately, we will not have live audience participation nor a moderated discussion this spring. We will have a tour via Facebook Live and we hope you all watch, especially kids who are not in school right now. We will closely view several objects from the Society’s collections and…

Pao Arts Center is proud to host Homeward Bound: Global Intimacies in Converging Chinatowns, an exhibition curated by queer Chinese American scholars, organizers, and artists Mei Lum, Diane Wong, and Huiying B. Chan. Join us for refreshments and to celebrate the closing of this exhibition. Homeward Bound centers narratives of home, community, and intergenerational resistance. The exhibition draws from four years of ethnographic research and oral history interviews with the Chinese diaspora that spans nine countries and 13 cities. The…