Season one of the podcast A Peoples History uses the story of Boston’s Columbia Point housing project as a lens through which to examine the Black liberation struggles of the 60s and 70s, as well as Boston’s housing crisis today. Told from the viewpoint of Marxist history, this show offers a different viewpoint on a story rarely told.

Lantern2021, a virtual family-friendly event, will celebrate the heroic actions of April 18, 1775, and Old North’s legacy of active citizenship. Join us for an uplifting evening featuring original music by Ryan Ahlwardt (formerly of Straight No Chaser), a spirited performance of the poem “Paul Revere’s Ride” by Rick Taylor (as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow), and the inspiring words of honoree Dave McGillivray, long-time Race Director for the Boston Marathon. Proceeds from Lantern2021 will support the Old North Foundation’s virtual and on-site programs, which aim to inspire children and adults alike to consider the ways they can build a more just and equitable world.

March 14 is the anniversary of one of the worst railroad accidents that ever happened in Massachusetts. On March 14, 1887, a train filled with suburban commuters was on its way from Dedham to Park Square station in Boston, stopping in West Roxbury and Roslindale along the way. Moments before it would have passed through Forest Hills, disaster struck. By the time the engineer turned around, he saw a cloud of dust and a pile of twisted rubble where nine passenger cars should have been. In a split second, a normal morning commute was transformed into a nightmare of death and dismemberment for hundreds of passengers.

Please check out the full show notes at: http://HUBhistory.com/218/

And support the show on Patreon.

This week’s podcast is sponsored by Liberty & Co, who sell unique products inspired by the American Revolution. See below for details on their March 2021 pre-order sale.

This week’s podcast is sponsored by Liberty & Co, who sell unique products inspired by the American Revolution. For the next two weeks, they’re holding their biggest pre-order sale ever, with eight brand new t-shirt designs dropping on April 1st.

Boston history fans might be interested in the “Rebellious Stripes” shirt bearing the banner of the Loyal Nine that can be seen at the Old State House museum. Or you might prefer the “John Hancock Shipping Company” design featuring the most famous signature in American history superimposed over the image of a merchant ship like the ones that built the Hancock fortune. I think my favorite is “An appeal to heaven,” with those words emblazoned over a green pine tree on a white background, adopting the flag of the Massachusetts navy, from back when we had our own navy.

Remember, the more you bundle by March 31, the more you save, so check out all eight designs. This time, there’s no promo code necessary (though you can save 20% on any other purchase with code HUBHISTORY), just make sure to get your pre-order in before the end of March.

Professor Richard T Greener grew up in Boston in the shadow of the abolition movement, graduated from Harvard, and became one of the foremost Black intellectuals of his era. However, soon after publishing his most influential work, when it seemed like he would take up the mantle of Frederick Douglass, he instead sank into obscurity. He was nearly forgotten for over a century, until his legacy was rediscovered in 2009 in a discarded steamer trunk in a dusty attic on the South Side of Chicago.

Please check out the transcript and full show notes at: http://HUBhistory.com/217/

And support the show on Patreon.

In 2017, Dr. Katherine Chaddock of the University of South Carolina, Greener’s old school, published the book Uncompromising Activist: Richard Greener, First Black Graduate of Harvard, the first book-length biography of Greener and our first Boston Book Club pick since October! Her publisher says,

His black friends and colleagues often looked askance at the light-skinned Greener’s ease among whites and sometimes wrongfully accused him of trying to “pass.” While he was overseas on a diplomatic mission, Greener’s wife and five children stayed in New York City, changed their names, and vanished into white society. Greener never saw them again. At a time when Americans viewed themselves simply as either white or not, Greener lost not only his family but also his sense of clarity about race.

Richard Greener’s story demonstrates the human realities of racial politics throughout the fight for abolition, the struggle for equal rights, and the backslide into legal segregation. Katherine Reynolds Chaddock has written a long overdue narrative biography about a man, fascinating in his own right, who also exemplified America’s discomfiting perspectives on race and skin color. Uncompromising Activist is a lively tale that will interest anyone curious about the human elements of the equal rights struggle.

Everyone knows Paul Revere’s famous engraving of the bloody massacre on King Street that helped cement the Boston Massacre in American memory. It’s easy to find copies of the engraving, and you can even see the original copper plate Revere etched to create the engraving from at the Commonwealth Museum in Dorchester. But did you know that Paul Revere staged an elaborate visual spectacle to commemorate the first anniversary of the tragedy? I’ve always imagined that in the days before television and movies, his Massacre illumination would have been transfixing. Our friends at the Paul Revere House write,

The Paul Revere House is excited to present a commemorative reimagining marking the 250th anniversary of Paul Revere’s Boston Massacre illuminations.

On March 5, 1771, Paul Revere used his recently purchased home to keep the memory of the Boston Massacre and opposition to the British occupation in Boston fresh with a series of three illuminations displayed in the windows facing North Square. According to contemporary reports, thousands streamed by his house in silence to witness the spectacle which was a key link in the Revolutionary chain between the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party.

Our virtual program offers footage of a local artist’s reimagining of the illuminations, descriptions from period newspaper accounts, and an in-depth panel discussion with Revere engraving expert, Prof. Nancy Siegel, and Boston Massacre scholar Prof. Serena Zabin to add context and color to this incredibly significant event.

There’s a $10 suggested donation with your registration, and the video will debut at 6:30pm on March 5, the 250th anniversary of the illumination and 251st anniversary of the Massacre.