Past Grants Awarded

A convention of Native groups in Boston, Worcester, Cape Cod Islands, South Coast, and Amherst in roundtable discussions envisioning a new social contract between the Commonwealth and its Native peoples.

A conversation between jazz legend Archie Shepp and students from Science and Technology of Springfield and Holyoke High Schools on how social and political current events impact the direction of contemporary music.

A three-part moderated film-and-discussion program with underserved Lawrence youth.

Multi-lingual playbill essays and study for local high schools and community college classes illuminating the relationship between the Provincetown Playhouse's famous founders and the Portuguese fishing community on the theater's 100th anniversary.

Support for a summer youth program as part of the Biannual Lift Ev'ry Voice Festival, focused on African-American identity in the Berkshires as well as the history and question of civil rights.

A program engaging 25 young black men from grades three through five in nominating the home of local hero Suzanne Revaleon Green for inclusion on the African American Heritage Trail in Cambridge.

An archaeological dig at the 1719 Parsons House, to which area third and fourth grade students and the public will be invited.

Support for an exhibit to focus on the Skinner department store in downtown Taunton at the turn of the twentieth century as part of the Society's revitalized community engagement efforts.

Support for a social media campaign to launch a multimedia electronic book depicting the history of China's One-Child Policy and the experiences of two adopted Chinese-American girls who visited their place of birth.

Memoir writing workshops for 75 adult basic education students in five western Massachusetts classrooms.

Support for programs for girls 10 and older learning about the famous Lowell Mill Girls through history lessons, site visits, and walking-and-photography tours.

Support for the development of an educational and informational program focusing on the economic and civic history of local agriculture by telling the stories of 6 farms in 6 towns in the region served by the Trust.

Support for the annual history day on Boston Common, in which more than 1,000 fifth grade students participate.

A gathering of local oral histories from members of multi-generational working families in the Berkshire County area and the subsequent creation and performance of four short plays based on their stories.

Training of the summer program staff to engage new audiences in humanities storytelling about Boston Harbor and its historical denizens.

A community conversation on historic approaches to social contract negotiation and achieving citizen rights and freedoms, and signage marking approaches to the subject by notable historical figures.

11th graders' dramatic reading of the voices of selected human rights leaders in a theatrical performance of "Voices From Beyond the Dark" by Ariel Dorfman.

A series of summer lectures offered by scholars, legal experts, and city officials, with contributions from recent immigrants to the Commonwealth on the history of immigration in the United States.

Documentation of the stories of detained immigrants in six short audio/video pieces and to present those in four moderated community film-and-discussion programs.

Preproduction of "Stephano: The True Story of Shakespeare's Shipwreck," a film project that will trace the life of Mayflower passenger Stephen Hopkins as part of the Center's "Hit and Run History" series.

Development of a trailer and a written treatment for a documentary about the security measure in American public schools of arming teachers.

A one-day conference for staff members of New England's literary house museums, entitled Creative Spaces: The Preservation, Interpretation, and Future of Historic Literary Sites.

An exhibition timed to coincide with the 250th anniversary of Boston's resistance to the British Stamp Act of 1765, as well as a summer teachers' institute for teachers in the Boston Public School district.

A series of six public conversations, entitled The Health of Democracy, that examine the proper role of government in promoting the general welfare of its citizens as well as shaping and overseeing the nation's social contract.

Performances of the play, "The Great War Theatre Company: Messengers of Bitter Truth," at Boston area high schools.

Community humanities programming to complement the play, "Mr g," for underserved youth and young and working adults, including faith-based communities of color.

Development and implementation of an exhibit with programming focusing on Portuguese immigration to Lowell, beginning in the early twentieth century.

Reading and discussion group centered around the theme of income inequality.

Scanning and inventory 1,000 photographic prints of New Englanders enjoying the outdoors between 1930-1950.

Inventory of 12 boxes of artifacts and records from the Proctor Comb and Button Manufacturing Company, a significant industry in the town from the mid-1800s into the early 1900s.

Inventory of negatives and photographs taken at Gardener's Colony for the Insane during the 1950s and 1960s and reproduce them in print for researchers and online for the public.

A reading and discussion series for fathers and their five-to-nine year olds based on our Family Adventures in Reading program.

Research, design, and installation of Work + House, an exhibit focused on workers' housing in the city's industrial past that began with the paper and textile mills.

Transportation of 75 Commonwealth Academy students to Sojourner Truth's Florence abolition and slavery walking tour, which will also be overhauled with streamlined, age-appropriate educational materials and online resources.

A county-wide reenactment of the events of September, 1774, when the local British government was overthrown by weaponless militiamen.

An extensive collaborative program exploring art and human rights, to be held as interactive seminars, theatrical productions and public conversations at the Loeb Drama Center and participating schools and organizations.

Performances of a new musical play on the immigration history of Boston and honoraria for a humanities scholar and panelists for post-performance talk back in three communities.

A summer school for budding archaeologists from underserved area high schools.

Production of two performances of an adaptation of Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" with performances at Springfield Historical Museum and including an educational outreach component to include Springfield youth participants and play development workshops in Greenfield.

Finalization of improvements to their accessibility measures for sight-impaired visitors, including experiential interpretation, and for a workshop sharing best practices learned from this project.