In commemoration of Black History Month, at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, February 16, University Prof. Bob Forrant showed the movie A Contradictory Place: Cotton Mills and Anti-Slavery Efforts in Lowell Massachusetts, 1830 – 1860 to an audience in O'Leary 222. This forty-minute documentary, released in 2021, discusses the extraordinary antislavery efforts that took place in mid-nineteenth-century Lowell. In “The Contradiction,” Prof. Forrant and local historian and community educator Maritza Grooms visited several sites including a stop on the Underground Railroad that still exist in downtown Lowell where abolitionist activity occurred, freedom seekers operated businesses, and individuals who escaped slavery gave talks to raise money for antislavery causes. While Lowell’s mills consumed tons of Southern cotton produced by enslaved people, many mill workers, religious leaders, small business owners, and even some mill overseers opposed the institution of slavery. There was a discussion led by Prof. Forrant after the showing.
In commemoration of Black History Month, on Friday, February 18, Prof. Daniel Broyld gave a talk via Zoom for the University of Rochester. In it, he drew from his forthcoming book, Borderland Blacks: Two Cities in the Niagara Region During the Final Decades of Slavery, to analyze how emancipation affected Blacks on each side of the US-Canadian border. The talk began at 6:30 p.m.
This spring, Prof. Christoph Strobel gave a lecture related to his research on Native American History: “Native Americans of New England: History, Colonial Legacies and Survival." He spoke publicly both at Nahant Public Library (Nahant, Mass.) on March 5 and for Lifelong Learning at Regis College (Weston, Mass.) on March 17. He gave the same talk virtually through Hingham Public Library (Hingham, Mass.) on February 28, Wellesley Public Library (Wellesley, Mass.) on March 3, and Clinton Public Library (Clinton, Mass.) on April 6.
On March 14, Prof. Abby Chandler published a pedagogical article on the Early American Studies Miscellany website. In the United States, we are used to the traditional historical presentation of the American Revolution in which we usually focus solely on the thirteen colonies; in Prof. Chandler's "Teaching the American Revolution as a Global Conflict," she reflected on the benefits and challenges of teaching about the revolution from a global perspective instead, which includes consideration of the significant interactions between the Americas, Europe, and Asia that impacted the war.
On March 22, Prof. Christohp Strobel's research on Native American history and his efforts to promote awareness of the violent history behind Massachusetts's state flag were featured on "The Academic Minute."
Prof. Chad Montrie has published a new book: Whiteness in Plain View: A History of Racial Exclusion in Minnesota. In this study, he examines how white Minnesotans used legal and illegal means to prevent people of color from coming to the state, to drive them out, or to segregate them. The book was published by the Minnesota Historical Society Press on April 5. After its publication, Prof. Montrie went on a book launch tour in Minnesota. While there on April 11, he did an interview about the book with Minnesota Public Radio News editor Brandt Williams.
In anticipation of Patriot's Day on April 18, Prof. Abby Chandler was interviewed for an article published online at Boston.com on April 13 that explores the history of this Massachusetts holiday.