This Week @MHS

Join us for a program at the MHS this week! Here is a look at what is planned:

On Tuesday, 9 July, at 6:00 PM: The Legacy of the China Trade in Massachusetts: Art, Artifacts, & Manuscripts in Local Collections with Layla Bermeo, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Karina Corrigan, Peabody Essex Museum, and Peter Drummey, MHS. Paintings, documents, decorative arts, and objects can weave together a more complete story of early America’s relationship with China in the 18th and 19th centuries. The intersections found in prominent collecting institutions in Massachusetts will be the subject of this discussion, which will feature highlights from the holdings of the MHS, MFA, and Peabody Essex Museum, and will describe the journey of these important objects and manuscripts from private hands to public collections. A pre-talk reception begins at 5:30 PM; the speaking program begins at 6:00 PM. There is a $10 per person fee (no charge for MHS Fellows and Members or EBT cardholders).

On Thursday, 11 July and Friday, 12 July, from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM: Education: Equality & Access workshop. This program will investigate the history of education access in Massachusetts and the United States, with a particular focus on access to education for African American students. Participants will learn more about Massachusetts residents who influenced national education policies, Massachusetts court cases that changed the course of national education policy, and the legacy of segregation and desegregation practices that impact Massachusetts schools to this day. The workshop is open to all K-12 educators. Teachers can earn 45 Professional Development Points and 2 graduate credits (for an additional fee). There is a $40 per person registration fee.

On Saturday, 13 July, from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM: Transcribe-a-thon. Help the MHS celebrate John Quincy Adams’s birthday by joining our annual transcribe-a-thon. Immerse yourself in JQA’s diary and help the Adams Papers Editorial Project make more of his 15,000-page diary available online. Lunch and light refreshments will be provided. Registration is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Gwen Fries at gfries@masshist.org or 617-646-0556.

“Can She Do It?”: Massachusetts Debates a Woman’s Right to Vote is open Monday and Wednesday through Saturday from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, and Tuesday from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM. Featuring dynamic imagery from the collection of the MHS, the exhibition illustrates the passion on each side of the suffrage question. For over a century, Americans debated whether women should vote. The materials on display demonstrate the arguments made by suffragists and their opponents. While women at the polls may seem unremarkable today, these contentious campaigns formed the foundations for modern debates about gender and politics.

Take a look at our calendar page for information about upcoming programs.