Past Grants Awarded

Creation of a Teacher's Guide and three companion short films which tell the stories of Native child removal, forced assimilation, and the first Truth and Reconciliation Commission for Native Americans in the country.

A scripted mock trial and post-performance discussion and the seventh annual communal reading of Douglass's 1852 speech on the Worcester Commons.

One a communal reading of Rev. Martin Luther King's Riverside Church speech, Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence, and the other a screening of the documentary Passage at St. Augustine: The 1964 Black Lives Matter Movement That Transformed America to be followed by a discussion between filmmaker Clennon King and long-time civil rights leader Mimi Jones.

A presentation by Hollis Watkins, author, civil rights leader, and founder of Southern Echo, Inc., on the civil rights themes of the last 50 years and the challenges of today.

Two performances of Jean Dany Joachim's Ta Voix Poete and post-performance scholar-facilitated discussions.

A six-session Family Adventures in Reading series using the syllabus on Relationships with storyteller Karen Chace.

The 7th annual communal reading of "What is the Fourth of July to the Slave?" on July 4th. Evening entertainment will include musical and dance performances, spoken word, and fireworks.

A facilitated reading of Douglass's speech, "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" with poet Everett Hoagland as the discussion leader.

Research on the Society's collection of business records, photos, and artifacts from the local machine shop to develop a better understanding of how and why a small precision manufacturing shop, with global connections, grew and prospered in a small agricultural community in western Massachusetts

The third annual public reading and moderated discussion of Douglass's "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?"

A forum on the role of poetry during times of cultural and political crisis.

Part of the city's Clemente Course in the Humanities to sponsor a public poetry reading and conversation with poet Naomi Shihab Nye on defining the place of immigrants in the American idea.

A series of three discussions moderated by Linda Coombs and Paula Peters based on the interactive "Our Story" exhibit of Wampanoag history, along with the Mashpee Nine book/film.

A series of audio documentaries using live radio broadcasts and listening events provoking discussion on the value of immigrant music, culture, and experience for the social life of the Commonwealth.

Three sessions of a free after-school program in journalism, radio/web production, and storytelling for high-school students in Springfield and Holyoke.

A youth-led community development project investigating identities in Lawrence through research, photography, and documentation.

A series of conversations exploring threats to civil rights and liberties of vulnerable communities, effective responses, and how such threats affect the country's social fabric.

A local history and interpretation project using creative approaches like hip-hop for students at three area middle schools.

A project including a summer camp for middle-school students and professional development workshops for Springfield teachers,

Development of a multimedia, interactive educational program about civil rights from slavery to the present day,

An exhibition, a lecture series, and a series of Community Conversations related to the impact of labor, servitude, and slavery over four centuries.

Research, historic documentation, interpretative writing about the house museum and its inhabitants.

A series of events in observance of the International Day of Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition.

Pre-production of the one-hour documentary Loyalty By Another Name.

A film screening of a documentary film about a family, a clothing business, & the legacies of genocide and discussion on the nature and meaning of immigrant and refugee resiliency.

A project inventorying, processing, and digitizing the John Quinn AIDS Memorial Books in preparation for public programming and an online exhibit honoring people in the Boston area who died from HIV/AIDS related illnesses.

A six-session FAIR series with storyteller Nicolette Nordin Heavey.

A series of five discussion events on Somerville's economic history held in public spaces like bars and social service nonprofits.

A four-session FAIR series in partnership with a local bookstore.

An inventory of artifacts from three local businesses and explore connections between skilled labor and buying power.

A communal and choreographed reading of Frederick Douglass' speech, followed by conversation and musical performance in partnership with Double Edge Theatre.

Creation of a catalog their collection of carriages and sleighs as part of establishing a professional framework for their collection and developing an interpretive focus on the material culture of Amesbury.

Boston premiere of the film Birth of a Movement: The Battle over America's First Blockbuster and community panel discussion.

A three-session migration-themed discussion project for recent Central American immigrants in Waltham.

Ten Common Good Reads sessions of a weekly reading-and-writing group for probationers, probation officers, and judges on the subject of reentering society from prison.

A facilitated discussion, live ballet performance of Esther's Journey, and solo performance a Frederick Douglass impersonator for 85 fifth graders from the Alfred Gomes Elementary School.

A six-month Literature & Medicine series at the VA Central Western MA Healthcare System in Leeds.

Screening of the documentary film The Man in the Cowboy Hat-chronicling the life of Carlos Arredondo, the Boston Marathon bombing hero-and a post-screening discussion.

A project that brings a scholar-facilitated discussion and a live theatrical production of Lois Lowry's The Giver to area students less familiar with theatre.

Six discussion events of the "Community Read" program centered on Robert Putnam's Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis.