Reading Frederick Douglass Together
Jun
23
4:00 PM16:00

Reading Frederick Douglass Together

The Jamaica Plain community is invited to gather together to read and talk about Frederick Douglass’s influential address, What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? . Designated readers will each read out a portion of the speech to be followed by a discussion of the meaning of the speech to us today. Date is tentative!

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Getting it Together in Franklin Park: The Past and Future of a Boston Landmark
Mar
16
1:00 PM13:00

Getting it Together in Franklin Park: The Past and Future of a Boston Landmark

Franklin Park is one of the great urban parks in the world. Generations of Bostonians have loved this landscape and invested it with many diverse memories and meanings. Today the park is at a turning point. Prof. Ethan Carr, the author of the new book Boston’s Franklin Park Olmsted, Recreation, and the Modern City. will be our speaker. This event will use a hybrid format, please click through to register if you want to attend via Zoom.

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50 Years of Joyful Resistance in Jamaica Plain
Feb
4
2:00 PM14:00

50 Years of Joyful Resistance in Jamaica Plain

City Life/Vida Urbana (CLVU) will share its rich history of organizing in Boston to build the power of working class and BIPOC communities to fight for systematic change. Founded in 1973, and currently located in The Brewery, City Life is known for its anti displacement organizing, fighting unscrupulous landlords; defending families from foreclosures and evictions. Zoom event, please click through to register!

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Slavery in Jamaica Plain
Jan
28
2:00 PM14:00

Slavery in Jamaica Plain

At least 27 Africans were enslaved in Jamaica Plain in the 1700s.  Hidden Jamaica Plain will present an overview of slavery in Jamaica Plain. This history includes land theft, enslavement first of Indigenous people and then expansion to Africans.  Massachusetts Bay was the first English colony to legalize slavery in 1641.  Chattel slavery existed in Massachusetts at the time of the American Revolution, and several Jamaica Plain patriots were enslavers.    Hidden Jamaica Plain is a volunteer group researching the history of land theft, enslavement, resistance and community in Jamaica Plain  Hybrid event, please click through to register for Zoom (if you want to attend virtually).

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Jamaica Plain & Ralph Waldo Emerson's Wish
Jan
20
2:00 PM14:00

Jamaica Plain & Ralph Waldo Emerson's Wish

While completing his latest book, Alex Krieger realized that his own neighborhood of Jamaica Plain is emblematic of a number of American ideals. Americans still identify with Ralph Waldo Emerson who lamented, “I wish for rural strength and religion, and city facility and polish.” Krieger will use his talk to trace this long American desire to occupy a place in between: city and country; civilization and nature, sophistication and simplicity, community and family and to argue that JP is an answer to Emerson’s wish. This event will use a hybrid format, please click through if you wish to register for Zoom.

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Author Talk: A Boston Harbor Islands Adventure
Oct
28
2:00 PM14:00

Author Talk: A Boston Harbor Islands Adventure

Author Stephanie Schorow speaks about her latest book ‘A Boston Harbor Islands Adventure’. In July 1891, four intrepid women from Lowell set off for Great Brewster Island in Boston Harbor for an adventure they would remember all their lives. Calling themselves “the Merrie Trippers,” the women created a journal of their 17-day sojourn with entries, illustrations and photographs. This is a hybrid event - please click through to register if attending using Zoom.

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Mapping Places From Above: A Peak into the BPL's Bird’s-Eye View Map Collection
Oct
5
6:00 PM18:00

Mapping Places From Above: A Peak into the BPL's Bird’s-Eye View Map Collection

The Boston Public Library holds a remarkable collection of approximately 500 bird’s-eye view maps from the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. How were these maps produced? How accurate are they? What sorts of historical information can we learn from them? This is a hybrid event, please click through if you would like to register for Zoom.

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Reading Frederick Douglass Together
Jun
25
4:00 PM16:00

Reading Frederick Douglass Together

The Jamaica Plain community is invited to gather together to read and talk about Frederick Douglass’s influential address, What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? . Designated readers will each read out a portion of the speech to be followed by a discussion of the meaning of the speech to us today.

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Author Talk: Dr. Wendy L. Rouse — Public Faces, Secret Lives: A Queer History of the Women's Suffrage Movement
Jun
12
6:30 PM18:30

Author Talk: Dr. Wendy L. Rouse — Public Faces, Secret Lives: A Queer History of the Women's Suffrage Movement


Dr. Wendy L. Rouse, Professor of History at San Jose State University,discusses her book 'Public Faces, Secret Lives: A Queer History of the Women’s Suffrage Movement', which explores the important role of queerness and queer suffragists in the fight for the vote. This book highlights the alliances that queer suffragists built and the innovative strategies they developed to protect and preserve their most intimate relationships as they defied the gender and sexual norms of their day. Please click through to register for this virtual event.

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The Life of Rev. Charles Fletcher Dole
Apr
30
2:00 PM14:00

The Life of Rev. Charles Fletcher Dole

Please join us for a presentation about Reverend Charles F. Dole by Paul T. Burlin who has recently completed a new book Charles F. Dole, Liberal Theology and Reform: A Life Well-Lived.   Charles Fletcher Dole was a long-time Jamaica Plain resident (he lived at 14 Roanoke Street on Sumner Hill) and was the minister of the First Church in Jamaica Plain  from 1876 to 1916.

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Looking Local: Researching History in Jamaica Plain
Apr
20
6:00 PM18:00

Looking Local: Researching History in Jamaica Plain

The Massachusetts Historical Society, the Jamaica Plain Historical Society and the Jamaica Plain Branch of the Boston Public Library are teaming up to help you learn more about ways to research the rich and vibrant history of JP.  Each organization will explain how to use the items in their collections to find out more about local history. Please click through to register for Zoom option.

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The Sculptures of Daniel Chester French at Forest Hills Cemetery
Apr
15
2:00 PM14:00

The Sculptures of Daniel Chester French at Forest Hills Cemetery

Dana Pilson curatorial researcher and collections coordinator at Chesterwood, the historical home, studio, and gardens of sculptor Daniel Chester French in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, will present an illustrated talk focusing on French’s works in Jamaica Plain’s Forest Hills Cemetery. Please click through to register for Zoom option.

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Play Reading: 'Sophia Hayden Deserves Better'
Mar
12
2:00 PM14:00

Play Reading: 'Sophia Hayden Deserves Better'

Join us on Zoom for a reading of the play Sophia Hayden Deserves Better by Stephanie Alison Walker. In 1891 a brilliant 23-year-old woman from Jamaica Plain won an architecture contest to design the Woman’s Building for the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. What should have been the start to a flourishing career in architecture became career-ending. Please click through to register.

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The History of St John's Episcopal Church, Jamaica Plain, MA
Feb
5
2:00 PM14:00

The History of St John's Episcopal Church, Jamaica Plain, MA

Katharine Cipolla, Parish Historian, will present a survey of this historic building from her recent book A History of St. John’s Episcopal Church, Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, The First Century. This survey offers a chance to explore the building’s history to date and to compare the existing edifice with the architect’s vision.

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Ice Harvesting on Jamaica Pond
Jan
21
11:00 AM11:00

Ice Harvesting on Jamaica Pond

By 1880, the Jamaica Pond Ice Company had 22 icehouses on Jamaica Pond with a storage capacity of 30,000 tons. Charlie Rosenberg of the Jamaica Plain Historical Society will discuss this fascinating industry and the over-sized role it played in Jamaica Plain’s economy. This talk is a hybrid event, you can attend in person or via Zoom, click through to register.

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JP Women Who Made History Walking Tour
Oct
9
2:00 PM14:00

JP Women Who Made History Walking Tour

This tour will highlight the many women who made history in Jamaica Plain and beyond. Educational reformers, musicologists, scientists, doctors and suffragists — the contributions of these women are enormous and their stories are wonderful. Some names are quite well known (Sylvia Plath) while others are lesser known but no less astounding (Emily Greene Balch).

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Boston's Latino Pioneers / Los Pioneros Latinos de Boston
Oct
8
12:00 PM12:00

Boston's Latino Pioneers / Los Pioneros Latinos de Boston

Join us for a screening of the film "Boston's Latino Pioneers" followed by a panel discussion featuring director Blanca Bonilla with some of the "Pioneers" as we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month / Habrá una proyección de filme "Los Pioneros Latinos de Boston" seguida de un panel de discusión que presentará a Blanca Bonilla con los "Pioneros" en celebración del Mes de la Herencia Hispana.

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The Great Boston Fire Book Talk
Sep
15
6:00 PM18:00

The Great Boston Fire Book Talk

For two days in November 1872, a massive fire swept through Boston, leaving the downtown in ruins and the population traumatized. Coming barely a year after the infamous Chicago fire, Boston’s inferno turned out to be one of the most expensive fires per acre in U.S. history. Yet today few are aware of how close Boston came to destruction. Boston author Stephanie Schorow masterfully recounts the fire’s history from the foolish decisions that precipitated it to the heroics of firefighters who fought it.

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The Southwest Corridor Park: A Neighborhood's Response to a Highway
Jun
12
2:00 PM14:00

The Southwest Corridor Park: A Neighborhood's Response to a Highway

The Southwest Corridor Park was the result of protests about the creation of an eight lane highway running through Boston’s southwestern neighborhoods. Jamaica Plain’s residents played an important role in both the stopping of I-95 project and the efforts to create a park out of the razed land.

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Confronting Racial Injustice: Rising Asian American Political Power
May
26
6:00 PM18:00

Confronting Racial Injustice: Rising Asian American Political Power

Part of the Confronting Racial Injustice series, which this year is focusing on Asian Americans. Anti-Asian violence is not new. Join us for a conversation about the history of racial violence against Asian Americans, and the recent rise of political power of Asian Americans featuring Boston Mayor Michelle Wu. Please click through to register for this online event.

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Confronting Economic Injustice: The Story of Parcel C
Apr
28
6:00 PM18:00

Confronting Economic Injustice: The Story of Parcel C

Part of the Confronting Racial Injustice series, which this year is focusing on Asian Americans. Boston’s Chinatown has long been the physical, economic, and cultural center for Chinese immigrants. Chinatown has also long fought for community control of affordable housing and economic justice. Join us for a conversation about the story of Parcel C, Chinatown’s success in fighting against institutional expansion and reclaiming this parcel for community use. Please click through to register for this online event.

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Book Talk with Wayne M. Miller author of Burn Boston Burn
Apr
2
12:00 PM12:00

Book Talk with Wayne M. Miller author of Burn Boston Burn

Burn Boston Burn tells the story of Boston in the early 1980s when the City is set ablaze. Two hundred sixty-four buildings were burned, intentionally set on fire, resulting in millions of dollars in damages and hundreds of injuries. Limited in-person seating will be available along with a Zoom option, please click through to register.

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Uncovering the Clues to Your Old House's History
Mar
19
2:00 PM14:00

Uncovering the Clues to Your Old House's History

If you own an old house, you may have questions about its history, who's lived there or how it’s changed over time. You may be wondering how to bring back or enhance its best qualities. Learn how to research the history of your old house, uncover clues about how old houses are frequently modified over time and how to reveal their best features. This talk will be virtual, so please click through to register for the Zoom.

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Evelyn Longman, Sculptor
Feb
27
2:00 PM14:00

Evelyn Longman, Sculptor

Dana Pilson, Curatorial Researcher at Chesterwood will speak about Evelyn Beatrice Longman who was an accomplished sculptor. Evelyn was the only female student and assistant in the studio of Daniel Chester French. This talk will highlight the many intersections and cross-currents between their works, including the exquisite Slocum Memorial in Forest Hills Cemetery. This will be an online presentation, please click through to register.

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The Industrial History of Green Street
Jan
23
2:00 PM14:00

The Industrial History of Green Street

Join the Jamaica Plain Historical Society to delve into the history of one of the most interesting conduits in our neighborhood. This talk by Michael Reiskind will concentrate on the section of Green Street that lays between Amory and Washington Street with its wonderful examples of large brick buildings. This talk will be virtual, so please click through to register for the Zoom.

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Wythe & Web: An approach to public art
Jan
13
6:30 PM18:30

Wythe & Web: An approach to public art

In this presentation, artist Matthew Hinçman will discuss his latest commission for the City of Boston, Wythe & Web. The presentation will also highlight Matthew's other public art works installed in JP, and how creating works specific to his neighborhood is an integral component of his artistic practice. This is a hybrid event - limited in person seating will be available or click through to register for the Zoom option.

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