On May 26, 2020, Philonise O’Neil Floyd learned that four police officers in Minneapolis murdered his older brother after a store clerk alleged that he had passed a counterfeit $20 bill. The world saw named officer Derek Chauvin knelt on George Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds; however, the people of the Earth did more than watch and mourn. Across the United States and internationally, George Floyd’s death sparked a worldwide outpour of protests against police brutality, especially toward Black people.
Virtual
LUIS ALFARO, award-winning playwright and educator RALPH REMINGTON, Director of Cultural Affairs, City of San Francisco HANA SHARIF, Artistic Director, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis DIEP TRAN, arts journalist
Virtual
In this compelling talk, Dr. Gounder will examine the far-reaching impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. She is getting a lot of questions from both American citizens and healthcare professionals on where we go from here.
Virtual
Dr. Seema Yasmin was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in breaking news reporting in 2017 for her reporting on a mass shooting. As a former officer in the Epidemic Intelligence Service at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, she was deployed as strategic advisor to foreign governments, won awards from the United States Public Health Service for leading epidemic investigations, and was principal investigator for scientific studies on disease outbreaks and their long-term consequences.
Virtual
Associate Professor in the Center for Policy and Research in Emergency Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University, and Founding Member for TIME’SUP Healthcare, Dr. Esther Choo is known as a bold and innovative voice on gender and racial equity in healthcare and an advocate for new frameworks for building positive and productive workplaces.
Virtual
Sybrina Fulton, who earned a bachelor's degree in English from Florida Memorial University, is dedicating her life to transforming family tragedy into social change. Since the death of her 17-year-old son, Trayvon Martin, during the violent confrontation in 2012, Fulton has become an inspiring spokesperson for parents and concerned citizens across the country. Her book, co-authored with Tracy Martin, Rest in Power: The Enduring Life of Trayvon Martin, shares the intimate story of a tragically foreshortened life and the rise of a movement that awoke a nation’s conscience.
Virtual
Recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the 2017 Sydney Peace Prize with Black Lives Matter co-founders Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tomet, Alicia Garza believes Black communities deserve what all communities deserve — to be powerful in every aspect of their lives. That’s what drives Alicia Garza as an innovator, strategist, internationally recognized organizer, and writer. In 2018, she founded the Black Futures Lab, which works to make Black people powerful in politics. In her first book, The Purpose of Power: How We Come Together When We Fall Apart, Alicia Garza shares her thoughts on politics and pop culture from her podcast Lady Don't Take No. She warns you that hashtags don’t start movements — people do.
Virtual
Daniel Immerwahr (pronounced IM-mer-var) is an associate professor of history at Northwestern University, where he teaches global history and U.S. foreign relations. His first book, Thinking Small (Harvard 2015), a history of U.S. grassroots antipoverty strategies, won the Organization of American Historians' Merle Curti Award for best work of U.S. intellectual history. His second, How to Hide an Empire, a retelling of U.S. history with the overseas parts of the country included in the story, is a national bestseller. Part of the Boston Public Library’s mission is to support lifelong learning, education and civic engagement that is “Free to All” including programs that bring figures and experts of note into conversation and dialogue. Arc of History: Contested Perspectives is a mini-series informed by historical moments and movements, recent and long past. The series is presented virtually in conjunction with the Lowell Institute and is produced and archived by the WGBH Forum network. For more information, please visit https://forum-network.org/series/history-talks-boston-public-library/.
Boston Public Library - Rabb Lecture Hall
Barbara Berenson is the author of Massachusetts in the Woman Suffrage Movement: Revolutionary Reformers (2018), Boston in the Civil War: Hub of the Second Revolution (2014), and Walking Tours of Civil War Boston: Hub of Abolitionism (2011, 2d ed. 2014). She is the co-editor of Breaking Barriers: The Unfinished Story of Women Lawyers and Judges in Massachusetts (2012). Learn more at http://www.barbarafberenson.com/. art of the Boston Public Library’s mission is to support lifelong learning, education and civic engagement that is “Free to All” including programs that bring figures and experts of note into conversation and dialogue. Arc of History: Contested Perspectives is a mini-series informed by historical moments and movements, recent and long past. The series is presented virtually in conjunction with the Lowell Institute and is produced and archived by the WGBH Forum network. For more information, please visit https://forum-network.org/series/history-talks-boston-public-library/.
Boston Public Library - Rabb Lecture Hall
In 1967, Katherine Switzer became the first woman to officially run the Boston Marathon as a numbered entrant. During her run, race official Jock Semple attempted to stop Switzer and grab her official bib; however, he was shoved to the ground by Switzer's boyfriend, Thomas Miller, who was running with her, and she completed the race. It was not until 1972 that women were allowed to run the Boston Marathon officially. Fifty years later, Kathrine Switzer successfully ran the Boston Marathon again at age 70. Switzer was originally going to join us during the week of the 2020 Boston Marathon to discuss these barrier-breaking moments on the racecourse and in life. The COVID-19 outbreak resulted in the cancellation of the Boston Marathon in April 2020. In its stead, the Boston Athletic Association is hosting a series of virtual events in the second week of September. Learn more at https://www.baa.org/124th-boston-marathon-be-held-virtually. Part of the Boston Public Library’s mission is to support lifelong learning, education and civic engagement that is “Free to All” including programs that bring figures and experts of note into conversation and dialogue. Arc of History: Contested Perspectives is a mini-series informed by historical moments and movements, recent and long past. The series is presented virtually in conjunction with the Lowell Institute and is produced and archived by the WGBH Forum network. For more information, please visit https://forum-network.org/series/history-talks-boston-public-library/.
Boston Public Library - Rabb Lecture Hall
For the latest information regarding each event please contact the presenting organization.