Associate director of the Boston Athenaeum John Lannon outlines the history of the Athenaeum, a leading research library founded in 1807 which houses notable artifacts from American history.
Director of the Massachusetts Historical Society William Fowler follows the history of the French and Indian War, emphasizing its importance as a turning point in U.S. history that remains little taught and little known popularly.
Director of the National Center for History in the Schools Gary Nash discusses African-American history in the Revolutionary War and memory of that history constructed by historians, the public, and researchers. Nash focuses on what is and was taught and published about African Americans in the Revolutionary War.
Author Nancy Schultz, author of Fire and Roses: The Burning of the Charlestown Convent, 1834, describes the burning down of a Roman Catholic convent and elite boarding school in 19th-century Boston; and discusses its causes.
A panel of scholars reviews the landmark school desegregation case Brown v. Board of Education and debates whether the case led to true improvement in the life conditions of African Americans.
Susan Wilson, author of Boston Sites and Insights: A Guide to Historical Landmarks, examines Boston landmarks, from the African Meeting House and the famously misunderstood Bunker Hill, to reveal the lesser-known stories and facts about them. Her presentation includes slides.
A panel discusses and debates the troubled desegregation of schools in Little Rock, AR, and the move towards desegregation in general. Ernest Green, one of the nine African American students who attended Little Rock's desegregated school, speaks as one of the panelists.
Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Charles Fuller discusses his life and motivations as an African-American author. The presentation also includes discussions and performances which bring the testimonies of slaves, soldiers, reporters, and activists from the Civil War to life, focusing on African-American history during the Civil War and African-American memory of the war.
Mayor of Hiroshima Tadatoshi Akiba describes the effects of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima on the city and on the lives of the survivors, and calls for nuclear disarmament.
Black history and studies scholar Manning Marable looks at the necessity for "revolution" in the field of Black studies. He looks at the history of education, scholarship, and the loss and construction of collective memory by and for African Americans.