Past Grants Awarded

A program that uses popular film clips to teach middle school students lessons on ethics and philosophy. Topics range from bullying to lying, friendship, and peer pressure.

Pre-production for a film about Pauli Murray, an African-American woman who made historic contributions to civil rights, women's rights, and religious life in the U.S.

A program that introduces adult education students to literature through poetry and creative writing workshops.

A public lecture series that will serve as a companion to an exhibit on conflicts in the United States from 1960 to 1974, such as the Kent State riot, Vietnam, and the women's movement.

A six-part radio program that takes on contemporary issues concerning the cultural and historical role of the Connecticut River in the Pioneer Valley. The episodes will examine economics, the environment, and the river's spiritual effects on the area.

Community Economic Development Center of Southeastern, MA will organize and hold a series of monthly community events on topics and issues related to the commercial fishing industry. The topics range from sustainability to women in the industry.

Reading and discussion program aimed at helping the general reader to explore the roots of Islam through a variety of texts.

Research into the multigenerational Whittemore family.

Research into the cultural landscape of Arrowhead, Herman Melville's farm in Pittsfield, during the period of his residency from 1850-1862, in order to better interpret Melville's life and work.

Support for research on the extensive antislavery activity that took place in the small rural hilltown of Cummington during the three decades that preceded the Civil War.

Funding for the hiring of a consultant to devise and execute a public outreach program for the Partnership's activities to mark the founding of Boston.

Redesign of the museum's gallery spaces using PhD candidates from Harvard's History of Science department to manage the process.

A poetry residency, after-school poetry writing workshops for students, and public readings that will be open to the community.

Support for activities that will lead to the inclusion of history into the teaching at the Center, formerly the site of the Boston State Hospital.

An exhibition exploring local Cambodian refugee culture, Cambodian-American culture, and non-Cambodians during and after the 1975-1979 genocide. The exhibit will address a number of themes: tolerance, acceptance and hope; the meaning of genocide, survival, healing; and re-building.

10-week after-school program for children that will focus on reading and discussion of books and instruction in drawing and watercolor techniques.

A program designed to engage new audiences in four public high schools to reflect on moral and ethical themes: responsibility to others, the meaning of human dignity, relationships that foster human flourishing, and respect and honor for difference.

A Franklin County history happening, to be held at Colrain Central School. The daylong event will consist of a free history fair with activities and booths for all ages presented by organizations and individuals from around the county, as well as an indoor history conference with about 20 breakout sessions.

A nine-month project, beginning with a series of workshops for previously incarcerated women, culminating in performances to be produced by the Fort Point Theatre Channel.

Transcription and translation of 20 videotaped oral histories of former and current Franco-American residents of Salem.

A collaborative statewide interactive Web exhibit featuring materials on the Revolutionary War from as many localities in Massachusetts as will participate.

Production of a mobile device audio/video tour of the grounds of Gore Place in Waltham, the Federal estate of Governor Christopher Gore (1758-1827). Gore used his summer place as a productive farm and as a place to experiment with agricultural methods.

Eight public discussions on the ramifications of the global economy, which will also be broadcast via public radio and podcasts. The discussions will focus on global engagement in military, political, and economic terms.

Inventory of the papers of Carlos Vega, one of Holyoke's most vocal and prolific Latino activists.

Inventory of the Robert H. Nylander Collection of research notes and maps related to the original Iron Work Farm land grant and the extant Jones-Faulkner Homestead and Jones Tavern for a permanent exhibition on the extent and evolution of the Jones and Faulkner land holdings throughout the town of Acton and nearby communities.

Cataloguing of materials relating to Medford during the transitional ante-bellum period, c. 1855.

An exhibit and public programming on the historical legacy of 1763 Peace of Paris treaty to coincide with its 250th anniversary in 2013. Credited with ending the last in a series of international conflicts known as the French and Indian wars, the treaty shaped the roles of Britain, France, and Spain on the North American continent and is seen as the precursor to the American Revolution

A series of assemblies and classroom workshops that teach teenagers about public speaking and storytelling techniques, and culminates in a competitive story slam, a live event with judges and prize money for finalists.

An exhibit that will explore the relationship between textiles/textile artifacts and the escalation of conflict during the Civil War and its aftermath. The exhibit will display slave cloth, soldier bandages, and the noose used to hang John Brown, among other key objects.

Two post-performance forums during the run of The Temperamentals, a play about the founders of one of the first gay rights organizations in the pre-Stonewall United States. The grant will also support interactive elements for audiences attending.

An out-of-school program for six to 10 teens that will explore the rich history of the Highlands neighborhood (the one-time home of abolitionist Frederick Douglass), and lead to a video-theatre piece based on oral history interviews with residents.

A series of 12 lunchtime concerts at the Center that will feature world music and accompanying lectures about that music.

A series of multimedia events on the life of this legendary leader in the fight for women's rights and the abolition of slavery.

A podcast and printed tour of African-American sites in the village of Old Deerfield as well as K-12 online lessons that will illuminate the history of local slavery in Old Deerfield.

Free public events and participatory programs for diverse audiences pertaining to the production of Troilus & Cressida.

A series of public education forums that examine Boston's desegregation history and its current public education needs in order start an informed conversation among various constituencies about public school quality and equality.

A lecture series, art history course, children's program, and a series of radio interviews to accompany its exhibit on Julien Hudson. Hudson was an early American portrait painter of African descent who explored race and the South in his work.

Three hour-long segments of its morning program, The Roundtable; the segments will explore parallels between various struggles for equality in American history. Interviewees will include such important figures as Anita Hill, Robert Reich, and Alex Keyssar, among others.

Development of a trailer for a PBS documentary on the life of Frances Perkins, Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Secretary of Labor and the architect of Social Security, minimum wage, and other New Deal legislation.

Reading and discussion seires sampling the four books most popular with the library's patrons in its inaugural year.