Using ESSEX History is pleased to welcome back Dr. Cynthia Lyerly (Boston College) to lead a discussion of the culture of Jim Crow. This seminar will provide nuance for discussions of segregation by taking educators out of the courtrooms and voting booths to examine how the Jim Crow system affected everyday life and how depictions of race in popular culture complemented and supported both legal and de facto segregation. Readings for this seminar will focus on the turn of the 20th century and will bring together a diverse amount of scholarship including: Dr. Lyerly's own work on The Clansman author Thomas Dixon, Jr.'s studies on the segregation of consumption and public spaces, and investigations into popular cultural icons such as Shirley Temple and Scarlett O'Hara. This seminar will take place at the NARA facilities in Waltham and will include screenings of portions of several films including Gone With the Wind, The Littlest Rebel, and Within Our Gates, as well as investigations into NARA's archives.The primary sources for the day reveal surprising ways in which the culture of segregation affected life here in New England.

Tim Mulligan, retired from National Archives and currently teaching at the University of Maryland, will speak on the Christmas Truce of 1914. The truce was not one ordered from above, rather the French, German, and Scottish troops in the trenches began singing carols, which lead to a meeting in "no man's land" (the area between trenches) and exchanging of gifts. The presentation will include a showing of the film Joyeux Noel 2005 about the same topic. Mulligan often uses this film in his course "History through Hollywood."

A hundred years ago, in communities across the U.S., white residents forced thousands of black families to flee their homes. Even a century later, these towns remain almost entirely white. Banished tells the story of three of these communities and their black descendants, who return to learn their shocking histories. This event presents a screening of the film, followed by a conversation with director Marco Williams. Williams, a member of the faculty at NYU, is a documentary and fiction film director. His films have been broadcast on cable and public television, including Showtime and Frontline, and have been screened at film festivals throughout the world.

This event will provide an examination of two Facing History resources that explore the critical role that race has played in U.S. history as it relates to immigration policy: Race and Membership in American History: The Eugenics Movement and Becoming American: The Chinese Experience.

NPR's Weekend Edition host and author Scott Simon will share insights and stories from his reporting on immigration in the U.S. and abroad. Along with student artists from the photography exhibit "The Way We See It: L.A. Teens on Immigration," Simon will help attendees consider what it means to "become American" in the 21th century.

Bill Moyers's documentary, Becoming American: The Chinese Experience, explores the challenges faced by Chinese Americans from the 1800s to the present and raises questions about the tensions between race, democracy, and citizenship. Participants view excerpts and explore parallels between the Chinese experience and those of other newcomers to the U.S.—what it means to "become American" today.

In conjunction with Facing History's content and themes of rescue during the Holocaust, participants will deepen their understanding of the ways one person can make a difference. The workshop will feature the documentary Blessed is the Match, one of Facing History's latest resources that tells the story of Hannah Senesh, the World War II-era poet and diarist who became a soldier, martyr, and national heroine in Israel.

What difficult choices confront individuals, groups, and nations in the face of genocide? What dangers does everyone face when nations do not confront history? Participants can learn ways of integrating Facing History's newest resource kit, Crimes Against Humanity and Civilization: The Genocide of the Armenians, into their curriculum. This is a multimedia resource for teachers which includes a resource book and companion DVD, lesson plans, and two documentary DVDs.

Highlighting two resources from Facing History's "Making History" series, this workshop will reflect on Raphael Lemkin's tireless efforts to, in response to the Armenian Genocide and the Holocaust, define and outlaw genocide. They will also examine the story of a group of women in Chile whose brightly colored tapestries, or arpilleras, played a leading role in the nonviolent movement for human rights during Pinochet's rule from 1973–1990.

Teachers can join the incredible Windjammers Education Band for a morning of music they will not soon forget. Through the music of Karl L. King, participants can relive the circus in its heyday, learning how each piece influenced the show and kept things moving along. A full band of circus musicians will break down the pieces into smaller parts, discussing the hows and whys of circus music composition as they go. Material covered can be related to both history and music study, and the workshop will include a lecture, gallery experience, and hands-on activity or lesson plan.